Inspired by the Fight Against Cancer

I too ran today in the Half Marathon and was moved to emotion at the display there at the race; the pictures, the story of London's brief life and her fight with cancer. It was both touching and inspiring to read about and to hear you talk about your daughter and what had happened. I feel like I can relate with it in so many ways.I have a nephew who was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL) a little over a year ago while serving his mission in Seattle. He was sent home to begin 2 1/2 years of very aggressive treatment. We all thought things would go smoothly but the roller coaster ride had barely just begun. If it wasn't one thing it was something else. First he developed double vision. Then they realized the double vision was a result of a blood clot that had developed in his brain caused by one of the chemo drugs. In addition to chemo they then put him on heavy blood thinners. They made a mistake with his prescription for blood thinners to treat the blood clot and for several weeks the blood clot worsened before it was discovered. In addition to that, osteonecrosis of the spine - another nasty side effect from a different chemo drug also set in. He ended up on a morphine drip for 6 weeks to treat the pain from the osteonecrosis. This and several other things. Currently he has 1 1/2 years left of treatment. It has been heart wrenching and difficult being thousands of miles from them and unable to do anything except pray and put their names on the prayer roll at the temple. It is a helpless feeling. I tried to do something though and got involved with Team in Training and ran a marathon (my first - St. George) to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It was a challenging and rewarding experience. There were times during training and during the race I wanted to quit and stop but I didn't.My nephew and his family still have plenty of challenges ahead. Already he and they have been an inspiration to me and to many others. He once remarked to my sister that he was grateful for having Leukemia because it has changed him and how he views life, the world and what's important. He couldn't imagine going through life without something like that to help him see. I have no doubt that you could probably say something similar, that your perspective on life and what is important has been vastly altered by London's life and her fight with cancer.When I signed up for this race (London's Run) I didn't really look at London's story or the details behind the race. The race initially appealed to me because it was on Saturday. I realize now there is so much more to the story. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and London's story with the rest of us today. It gave me a new and deeper reason to run and to finish well. It reminded me of my nephew and his fight. I wanted to find you after the race and hear and learn more about you and London and tell you about my nephew. Thank you so much for putting this event together. It was inspiring and I enjoyed all of it. I am already looking forward to next year's run and I know a few people I am going to bring with me as well.Thank you and God bless.
Stephen Thompson
Tempe, AZ
United States