A lot of people have asked me why I wore a headband during the Boston Marathon on Monday and what it said. Believe it or not, I wasn’t just wearing it because I’m trying to bring back 80s-workout-fashion trends. The headband reads “Mass General” and I wore it to support the Pediatric Oncology/Hematology Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) that treated me in 1997.

Working hard to support MGH as they supported me for so long

Working hard to support MGH as they supported me for so long

For those who don’t know, I was treated for a-plastic anemia (an often-fatal bone-marrow disease) as a 6-year-old. There were too many sources of motivation to count for my running the Boston Marathon, but overcoming my illness and supporting those currently in treatment was certainly at the fore-front (for a bit more background, you can read this post from December where I discuss this in depth).

I received a mountain of support on Monday – both during and after the race – but one email jumped out at me and brought me and my whole family to tears. It came from my doctor – the man who saved my life 17 years ago and is, coincidentally, a runner himself – who was on-call during the Marathon. I’ve censored some sensitive information, but it was so powerful that I felt the need to share it.

 

Hi Tyler,

Hope you are feeling OK…saw your time – phenomenal.  Shortly after you finished, I was reviewing the same treatment regimen you received  many years ago to a mom whose 3 year old started that therapy yesterday afternoon.  I unfortunately had to stay in the hospital to administer a test dose of the ATG to the child before he started his infusions.  Didn’t get out until 7:30 last night, but my older son kept texting me with updates on your excellent run.  Without using names, I told that mom that I knew a guy who had the same disease, treated the same way, who was now very healthy and very fast…at least it made us both smile.

 

To me, even seventeen years later, I still feel a strong connection to the Pedi-Hem/Onc Clinic at MGH. Wearing a silly turquoise headband seemed to be the least I could do.