What would make a 50 year-old, out of shape, never ran a race in her life, mother of two college aged children - run a half marathon????

It really is a story of a deal?  A deal with herself…A deal with her higher power??? Doesn’t really matter but it goes something like this.

On May 15th, Laurie Quinn had a simple mole removed from her left ankle as part a routine Dermatogist appointment, but the results shockingly came back…shocking even to the doctor that it was a Stage 3, melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer.  Laurie was immediately put in the hands of an Oncologist and Specialty Surgeon from Sibley Hospital in Washington, DC.  Her prognosis was not good.  Her odds of survival she was told was 59.9%.  Her need to have a type chemotherapy was nearly 100%.  And it was at that time that they decided they needed to be aggressive with a mole on her right ankle as well.

On May 21st Laurie was told not to leave the Oncologist’s office, but rather wait in his office until he could make some calls and find a surgeon who specialized in melanoma that could see her right away.  The oncologist told Laurie that every day mattered at this point. As she waited in the oncologist office.  Afraid to breath, afraid to look around at the other cancer patients, afraid to read any of the
literature because it all dealt with cancer…for some reason, someone had left behind a Runners magazine.  She picked it up ...it looked less scary than anything else in the waiting room and she spotted an ad for the Richmond Marathon.  Never had run a marathon…never having run a race…she said to herself…“if only I could get through this and make these ankles work again someday, I will run in a half marathon”.

On May 29th, Laure underwent surgery on both ankles that included taking “ice cream scooper sized”  skin and muscle from her ankles, taking skin from her groin and doing skins grafts, removing and testing her sentinel nodes for further testing and to determine the course of treatment from there.

It was not until June 16th that Laurie heard the great news that her sentinel nodes were clear and that other than recouping from the ankle surgeries she would not need to undergo chemo therapy or other cancer treatment.  Laurie’s response to the doctor at this news was a bit confusing.  “Damn!” she said.  “Huh?” exclaimed the Doctor.  “Now I have to run a half marathon!”, she cried.

She is ME.  I think I write this in the third person because I cannot really believe it is all true.  I am here!  I am alive!  And although I am sure I will not “run” the half marathon….I do know that I will
start it!  I have been working with a personal trainer as soon as my ankles would let me to prepare.  I cannot wait to live my commitment to ME by starting and hopefully completing the 13.1 course.  My son, who goes to the University of Richmond and is a pre-med student there will be with me ever step of the way…just as he was in my recovery.

Good luck, Laurie. Yours is an inspiring story that I will think of as I train for the Richmond half, too.