DC Race For Hope Weekend

This is the 1 year anniversary of our first Race for Hope. Last year we entered just 2 weeks after Justin was diagnosed and quite frankly we still were in shock over him having a brain tumor. Wow time flies I cannot believe 1 year has past that fast. Justin started the weekend by going to soccer practice and he had a sleep over with 4 boys Friday night. They all shot hoops for most of the night and had alot of fun. They shot 250 baskets. Saturday Justin and his brothers shot hoops and made 50 shots. Sunday Morning we left at 7 am to go to the Race for Hope. Justin put on his yellow survivor shirt. It blows me away to see my son wearing that yellow shirt which denotes that he is a survivor, thank God he is a survivor, but that he even has a brain tumor is still shocking. It is like wearing the scarlet A but in a positive sense because he is with us. Unfortunately, the event has families who have lost loved ones and that just breaks our hearts. We took 2 cars to the event as Jordan, Justin and Jacob all had soccer games at 1pm so we had to divide and conquer to get them there. I drove with Justin and he was very tired and a little apprehensive. The race went well ,we had alot of team members and want to thank all of the people who joined Justin's team. We are grateful for the support. It was a very hot day. The event brings out so many emotions, as it is so hard to describe because our family is sad to see Justin go through this but our whole family is very sad for all the families effected by this terrible disease. Justin and his brothers got a picture with David Cook and Greivis Vasquez who came out for support. That was so nice. Justin walked with his friends and Audrey and I and Joey jogged about half the race and walked the rest. It was packed. To make it more emotional for Audrey and I, we are taking Justin to Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center tomorrow because Justin has to be seen by their top endocrinologist because he is not growing. Justin saw our endo. doc this Wednesday and she was very concerned about his lack of growth and the brain tumor. Sloan was great in getting us this appointment so quickly. I just told Justin at 3:30pm Sunday as not to stress him out this weekend. We will leave at 3am Monday to be in New York. I told Justin and he is nervous, but I told him everything will be OK. His 3 brothers are so special in supporting him as they are hanging with him to comfort him. We are taking the family out for their favorite restaurant, Rio Grande and Carvels for ice cream, Justin's request. He is excited to get his usual hotdog in New York from the corner vendor. Overall a very humbling weekend that will bring additional challenges for our family after our Sloan visit tomorrow. Thanks again for our family and friends who came out to the walk and support. We are very appreciative.