Boston Marathon

Why I’m Running: ‘My sister was treated for two brain tumors at Mass General’

Marie Walton is running the Boston Marathon to support Mass General Hospital after her sister was treated with “compassionate care."

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By Claudie Bellanger

1 minute to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston.

Name: Marie Walton
Age: 25
From: Charlestown, Mass.

I’m running the Boston Marathon for the Mass General pediatric brain tumor program because I experienced firsthand the compassionate care every single nurse, doctor, social worker, and staff member provides to their patients, when my youngest sister was treated for two brain tumors at Mass General. 

Morgan was diagnosed with two brain tumors at the age of nine — the next five years of our lives were filled with surgeries, chemotherapy, proton radiation, nausea, hair loss, countless doctors and nurses, missed school and sports games, constant fear and anxiety, and luckily for our family, treatment at Mass General. 

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Every single person we interacted with at Mass General was unfailing kind and generous  —  Morgan’s radiation nurse who knew to play her favorite song while she was receiving radiation, the hair stylist that shaved Morgan’s head and made her feel beautiful when her hair grew patchy, her oncologist that answered every question, got to know her, and comforted her fears for the future. 

They all made the scariest, most exhausting experience of Morgan’s childhood, easier, more comfortable, and less anxiety inducing. She is now a happy and healthy 20-year-old college student, and I now work in the Mass General Development Office, helping to raise funds every day to support the Mass General mission. It is such a special, full-circle moment for me to join the legacy of Boston Marathon runners who have also fundraised for the very program that had such a positive impact on my family.

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.

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