Our Story

We started dating in 2005 just before I ran my first New York City Marathon.  Memorable years followed. We adopted our dog Oliver, traveled, married, bought our first house, had our daughter Cate, and established our careers.  By 2013, I started running again.  And by October 12, 2014, I ran my first Chicago Marathon - the same day that my wife Christina entered her thirties, within days of my father's critical pancreatic surgery and within weeks of the untimely passing of my father-in-law. October 2014 reminded us of the value of a day.

In September 2015, I ran my first Berlin Marathon.  It was an unforgettable family gathering of cousins, aunts, my parents, Christina and Cate congregating at the finish line in Tiergarten.  We came a long way from the previous year. We achieved milestones and losses.  It was time to enjoy what lay ahead of us.

In April 2016, I ran my first Boston Marathon.  It had been an ambition for as long as I could remember.  It also fulfilled for me two-thirds of the Abbott World Marathon Majors.  The weight began to lift.  Maybe this was achievable.    

Then, on October 11, 2016, life momentarily halted as we learned Christina had a brain tumor.

She was traveling on business most of October. She was not considering the sudden hints of it – a continuous headache and ongoing partial seizures.  She ignored it until, midday at work one day, she forgot where she was and who she was with.  Finally, it was a wake-up call to go to an Urgent Care center, which suggested she have a CAT scan.

It never crossed our minds she would fly home within hours of learning of the tumor; and upon arrival, benefit from neurologists in Roswell (Georgia, USA) communicating with doctors in Boonton, Morristown, and Summit (New Jersey, USA) during that flight.

On October 12, 2016, we met with Atlantic NeuroSurgical Specialists. We celebrated Cate’s 5th birthday that weekend. And, thankfully, my mother-in-law’s cornea transplant went well.

On October 19, 2016, Christina’s first left temporal lobe tumor was removed. Three weeks later – after extensive testing – her diagnosis was confirmed as level-4 glioblastoma, a strong and relentless brain cancer. Currently, a cancer that is foreign to remission. A cancer that is ignorant of time.

We have been fortunate to have the ongoing support and strategic direction of Atlantic NeuroSurgical Specialists and Gerald J. Glasser Brain Tumor Center at Overlook Hospital.

They give us the gift of time by being agile in treatment and by executing evolving surgeries, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy.  They guided us through six-weeks of post-operative radiation and chemotherapy, and they continue to guide us through monthly chemotherapy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Their ongoing analysis identified Christina’s second, smaller left temporal lobe tumor which was removed on June 5, 2017.  Their ambition to improve and enhance glioblastoma treatment offered the opportunity to tackle the birth of Christina’s third tumor by CyberKnife radiation started on October 12, 2017.


Our Goals

The last few years have increasingly reminded us of the value of time. More now than ever, we strive towards achieving our goals each day and building the foundation of tomorrow.  

In 2017, Christina returned to work in January.  We continued our annual tradition of visiting friends in Houston. We celebrated my 40th birthday with family at one of our favorite restaurants, Gourmet Cafe.  I qualified again for the Boston Marathon; and this time, our dog, Oliver, came along too.

Two weeks after her second tumor was removed, Christina was able to see our daughter Cate graduate kindergarten. Cate and I attended a family reunion in California, and Christina flew in a few days later when she was well enough to join our first trip to Disneyland. Our summer was time well spent with family and friends.

We look forward to upcoming holidays, welcoming a new year, and embarking on the Tokyo Marathon in February 2018.

We are grateful for each and every day. As we have become more conscious of living in the present, it has also made us more cognizant of what is required for the future.


Live Today for Tomorrow

As I embark on completing the Abbott World Marathon Majors in 2018, there is no better way to complete this life chapter than running the 2018 London Marathon which supports Brain Research Trust, an organization “[accelerating] the progress of brain research.” Our story is only one story. But, it is a lens of what it is like to live with glioblastoma today.

Tomorrow must include advancing glioblastoma treatment, introducing it to remission, and preventing future generations from being exposed to brain cancer.

Brain Research Trust is an organization actively “[funding] the best research to discover the causes, develop new treatments and improve the lives of those affected.” Brain Research Trust is on a path of advancement and prevention – an ambitious and needed foundation of tomorrow.

*Brain Tumor Impact in United Kingdom
Every year, 11,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumor
Brain tumors are the second most common type of cancer in children; incidence remains relatively stable until age 25 to 29 years, before increasing more sharply
There are around 130 different types of brain tumors
Glioblastoma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor, accounting for almost a quarter of all brain tumor diagnoses
There are around 5,000 deaths due to brain tumors every year in the UK
[There] is no cure and most patients die within one year of diagnosis
Survival is highest in younger patients, with around 60% of people diagnosed under the age of 40 surviving at least five years, compared with only 1% of those diagnosed aged 80 and over
In children (aged 0 to 14 years), the five-year survival rate is 75%
*Brain Research Trust facts found at: http://www.brt.org.uk/our-research/brain-tumours/