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Shannon Dunleavy will step out of her Darien home June 5 and head to Stamford to do something she couldn't do last year. Dunleavy will walk in the Hope in Motion fundraiser to benefit the Bennett Cancer Center.
She couldn't walk at last year's Hope in Motion because treatment and recovery from a brain tumor left her in a wheelchair. That didn't stop her from participating, though. I did the walk in a wheelchair. My sister claimed I needed to lose a lot of weight. She was struggling uphill at the 3K mark, Dunleavy said outside the Darien Library. She jokes and laughs about the tribulations she has been through.
Dunleavy and her family have participated in the annual fundraising event for the past six years. It was a show of support to the hospital for their efforts in treating Dunleavy's mother's breast cancer. Every year, Dunleavy walked in support of the center and her mother.
The tumor that struck Dunleavy progressed to Stage 3 before showing a sign that something was wrong. The first clue was a seizure while Dunleavy was driving home to Darien from Greenwich. Luckily, I-95 traffic was barely cruising along so everyone involved was fine, Dunleavy said, laughing.
Dunleavy found herself in a few hospitals and eventually under the recuperative care at the Bennett Center. Most of the tumor was removed surgically, and she said signs are good for her recovery. She's on her 10th of 12 chemotherapy treatments and holding up as best she can.
This year, Dunleavy is back on her own two feet and looking forward to the event. Being near death has given the 26-year-old a perspective on life that she admittedly would have been just as happy learning a different way or later in life. It makes me hug my mom more. She's amazing. It makes me want to memorize my dad's face when he is ranting about politics and sports. And it makes me want to sit down with my sisters and giggle about how insane our family is. In some strange way, as much as I hate cancer, it is a gift, if you can see that from it, Dunleavy said.
Hope in Motion helps provide the Bennett Center with the funds for research and education as well as for rehabilitative services. This is the event's 16th year. Participants can walk, run or join a bicycle ride. Information about the event and donations is available on the website, which also has the full schedule of events.
You meet then do a 5K walk, and the streets are just packed with people all in one color T-shirt. It's an emotional day, but in a good way, Dunleavy said.
Do you plan to take part in the Hope in Motion event?
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