If you told me back in the day that I’d be running a 10K charity race in my 40s, I probably would have burst out laughing and said, “What’s wrong with you?” I’m about the least athletic person you could imagine. In fact, I’ve done everything I could to avoid sports. Even during my college years, I dreaded phys ed class. It was all I could do just to pass.
So 20 years ago, if I had been asked if I’d be running a 10K race one day, my answer would’ve been, “What’s wrong with you?” Today, my answer has changed: it’s not there’s anything wrong with me, but two of my children haven’t been so lucky. I have spent the past 10 years balancing my time between work and going to Sainte-Justine with our daughter, Maëlle, who is now 17. She has autism and an autoimmune neuromuscular disease that they have only just managed to stabilize, to our great relief.
Unfortunately, in March 2018, we learned that our son, Mathieu, now 14, has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a type of heart disease that forces him to limit his physical activity. Unlike me, sports were his life. I thought my mother’s heart couldn’t be broken any more than it already was with Maëlle, but it turned out I was wrong…
Since Mathieu couldn’t run long distances anymore, I decided to sign up for the 10K Scotiabank Charity Challenge on April 25 to honour both our children’s courage. Their 16-year-old sister, Maude, will be running with me, as will the entire team from Fonds Maëlle Adenot to let them know how much we love them and support them unconditionally, no matter what life throws their way.
We set up the Fonds Maëlle Adenot 10 years ago to help humanize patient care at Sainte-Justine. The fund honours the fighting spirit of our daughter, Maëlle, who was struck by an aggressive illness at the age of 7. Every 10K run will symbolize the decade spent battling the disease she’s now, thankfully, in remission from.
The money raised by the Fonds Maëlle Adenot will help the outpatient unit acquire distraction kits for pain management and other materials to comfort current and future patients while they are undergoing treatment.
We see hope on the horizon… and we hope you do, too.
On your marks, get set… go!
Catherine Kozminski
Mother of Maëlle, Maude and Mathieu Adenot
*The remarks expressed in this article reflect the opinion solely of the author and should not be considered as representative of the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation.
