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Kathryn Andrews, RN, a staff nurse in the Thoracic ICU on 11C, promised her late father she’d be his legs when he was sick and could not walk. She is fulfilling her promise by running the Boston Marathon on April 21 as a member of Team Brigham.
Andrews wanted to run her first marathon to support the hospital where her father was treated for lung cancer.
“When my dad came to the Thoracic ICU at BWH, we had planned to do several procedures, but found the cancer had spread too much. He passed away six weeks later,” Andrews said. “When I’m running out in the snow and rain, I think of him. He was in such pain and still went everyday to radiation. I think of all those who are suffering, and it gets me moving.”
As one of the 128 members of Team Brigham 2008, Andrews is raising funds for community health programs sponsored by BWH, including mentoring programs for local elementary and high school students, support services for women diagnosed with breast cancer and neighborhood health services.
This year, 26 members of Team Brigham work at BWH, the greatest number of employee runners since the team started ten years ago. Each runner commits to raise $3,000 to help the team meet its overarching goal of $500,000.
“Each one of the members of Team Brigham is truly an extraordinary individual,” said Suzanne Leidel of Development, the official den mother of the team. “Every employee at BWH should feel a great sense of pride that this group of runners has chosen to represent the Brigham at the Boston Marathon and help support the people served by our community health programs.”
In the past decade, the team has raised more than $3.25 million for Passageway, a domestic violence program, Connecting Hope, Assistance and Treatment program (CHAT) for breast cancer support services and the Student Success Jobs Program.
To keep runners motivated, Leidel sends out inspirational weekly e-mails and coordinates informational meetings and team runs. Team Brigham runners are invited to train with Fitcorp’s marathon training teams during Saturday morning distance runs and Tuesday evening hill workouts at the Boston Common. Runners can also attend lectures on nutrition, injury prevention and fund raising, led by Reg Wilcox and Nicholas Karayannis from BWH Rehabilitation Services and Kara Maloney from BWH Nutrition.
This year’s Team Brigham members range from ages 21 to 65, and their marathon experiences vary. Fifty-six will be running their first marathon on April 21, though 37 are alumni of the team. Many of the team’s members have participated in anywhere from two to 90 marathons.
Andrews finds time to run in between her 12-hour shifts in the ICU. Since she began training, she has gone through four pairs of shoes and finds that she eats all the time. “I love it. Running gives me a chance to just wind down from work and the craziness of life,” she said.
Examples of items that Team Brigham’s dollars support through the Center for Community Health and Health Equity
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