Cardiac intensive care nurse Elizabeth Taylor, RN, and one of her most memorable patients, Danalyn Adams Scharf, together took the final strides of the 104th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17, 2000, three years after Danalyn received a life-saving heart transplant at BWH.
“Danalyn’s finish was even more of a thrill for me than my own Boston Marathon finish,” said Elizabeth.
As most runners were solely concentrated on their own performance, Elizabeth, a three-time marathon runner, was equally focused on being there to encourage Danalyn as she approached her historic Boston Marathon finish as the first female heart transplant recipient to complete a marathon in the nation.
Elizabeth first crossed the finish line at four hours and 11 minutes. Soon after, she began to gather blankets, snacks and water to bring with her when she retraced the race route to find Danalyn and her husband Matthew Scharf.
“It was really cold and Matt and I were walking when we spotted Elizabeth’s smile through the crowd of runners,” said Danalyn.
The nurse-patient pair then finished the last mile of the Boston Marathon together and crossed the finish line at five hours and 53 minutes.
When Elizabeth first learned that Danalyn was training for the 2000 Boston Marathon, she was not at all surprised. “Danalyn was always one step ahead of all the nurses in our ICU, asking questions about when she could get out of bed or when she could start walking. She had an incredible amount of determination to get better,” she said.
“I was touched that Elizabeth was by my side. Her support made my first marathon an incredible experience,” said Danalyn, who along with Elizabeth, was part of the 125-member Team Brigham, a special team assembled by BWH to support its community benefit programming.
In addition to Elizabeth’s support during the Boston Marathon, she provided Danalyn tips on training for the race. She was also instrumental in coordinating a pre-marathon reception on behalf of the Division of Cardiac Surgery to honor Danalyn.