A young woman named Hillary, 22, may be in her fourth bout with cancer, but she has always been one to keep her feet moving.
In 2013, Hillary lapped the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital 286 times becoming the first patient to cover 26.2 miles while receiving in-patient care.
Rather than wearing a numbered bid, Hillary, who was 20 at the time, wore a mask and was hooked up to an IV pole as she went the distance. She was three weeks out of a bone marrow transplant as part of her treatment protocol for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hillary trained for the “race” by walking at least a mile every day. It was all worth it for the confetti and cheering onlookers at the designated finish line.
She grew up dancing, be it jazz, ballet, or hip hop. She also won national awards for clogging. Then she went on to dance for her college team.
According to Women’s Running,
But in 2008, something happened to Hillary that threatened to end her dance career forever. She fell ill during dance practice. Her family turned to St. Jude for her treatment and care after she was found to suffer from b-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.After three years of chemotherapy that pushed her cancer into remission, Hillary thought she’d conquered cancer forever, but her victory would be short lived.Doctors soon learned Hillary suffered from an unrelated form of cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She began her second cancer battle in October 2011. Hillary underwent another nine months of intensive chemotherapy and achieved remission once again.Sadly, Hillary relapsed and returned to St. Jude in 2013. Her treatment included chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
Despite her body failing her time and again, Hillary trusts it at the same time. Now that’s believing in yourself.