The First Annual
Memorial Run/Walk to Benefit Sunrise Fund at Stony Brook
STONY BROOK, N.Y.,
September 13, 2011 – The first annual “Liz Kelly Run for the Sun” 5K will take
place in Patchogue on
 |
| The “Liz Kelly Run
for the Sun” 5K honors the life of Liz Kelly, a Stony Brook University student
and cancer patient. |
September 25. The run/walk honors the life of Elizabeth
Kelly, a 19-year-old Stony Brook University student stricken with cancer in
2009 who died in 2010. September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,
and the event benefits the Sunrise Fund at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s
Hospital. All proceeds go toward pediatric cancer research.
“Liz handled her
illness with such grace, despite what became an uncontrollable disease course,”
says Patti Kelly, Liz’ mother and organizer of the event. “We want her life to
be remembered as a gift, 19 perfect years. The love and support of the Stony
Brook doctors and nurses, and my promise to Liz to help others in her memory,
prompted me to start this event. We hope it is one of many fundraisers for
helping to advance pediatric cancer research, particularly for forms of the
disease that are so difficult to treat.”
In September 2009,
Liz was a vibrant Stony Brook University freshman and on the swim team. After a
few weeks of feeling unusually tired, Liz, a competitive swimmer since age 8,
attributed the fatigue to her workouts and rigors of college. But her fatigue
continued that semester and other symptoms ensued.
After seeing Robert
I. Parker, M.D., Director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at
Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital, Liz was diagnosed with cancer with
an undefined tumor origin. The team immediately treated Liz aggressively with
cancer therapies. Though Liz, who was born in Stony Brook University Hospital,
responded to some treatments, her disease spread rapidly the following fall and
she passed away on December 22, 2010, just hours before her 20th
birthday.
This past summer, a
kickoff dinner held at The Oar in Patchogue for the Liz Kelly Run for the Sun
5K raised $1,300, which Patti Kelly donated to the Sunrise Fund for cancer
research. Called the “Friends of Liz Kelly,” Patti, other event organizers, and
the nurses and doctors of Stony Brook’s Pediatric Hematology/Oncology team,
expect to build on these proceeds from participation in the run/walk.
The event starts and
finishes at Dublin Deck Marina on River Avenue in Patchogue. The race begins at
11:00 am, rain or shine. Sponsors include Dublin Deck Marina, the Village of
Patchogue, the Patchogue Lions Club, and the Sunrise Fund.
Top raffle prizes
include a Kohler bathroom worth $10,000, signed guitars by various artists, and
a Heineken Mountain Bike.
Pre-registration is
$25 and $30 day of race. For more information, contact Patchogue Village Parks
& Recreation at 631-475-4302. Registration applications are available
online at Justfinish.net.
About the Sunrise
Fund at Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital
The Sunrise Fund was
created in 1999 as a grassroots organization by concerned parents of patients.
Through the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Stony Brook Long
Island Children’s Hospital, the fund raises money to establish numerous
initiatives to help children fighting cancer and lend support to their
families. Doctors, nurses, child care specialists, social workers, and other
healthcare professionals make up the Sunrise Fund team.
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