As passionate as I am about training and running the BostonMarathon, I also feel a deep and sincere connection to the Red Cross. By participating on Team Red Cross, it helps me tell a part of my personal story. I suffered a stroke in 2009 and it was thanks to my mother’s training with the Red Cross that she recognized the signs and immediately told me to go to the hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, I could not receive any medication because the window had passed for any medical intervention. I was told that whatever paralysis that I had in the morning would be the effects of the stroke. If my mother didn’t have the training provided by the Red Cross, I would probably have woken up at home the next morning scared and wondering what happen to me. I woke in the hospital with no range of movement on my right side. I could not even talk, and you know how much I like to talk. Thanks, to aggressive therapy and Spousal support I am at around 90% recovered. Completing the Boston Marathon will probably be my last marathon as the 10% of movement I didn’t get back is making it difficult to continue running 26.2 miles. Ending my marathon career in Boston is a dream come true.