Spotlight - Hilary Thompson

Each week we will be picking members to spotlight to tell their Alzheimer's story and why they are running in this year's New York City marathon. Check in each day for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

My mother, Mary Lou Thompson was an amazing woman.  I never in a million years would have though I would have to live most of my life without her.  Losing my mom to Alzheimer's was the worst thing I have even gone through and I miss her every single day.  10 years ago I had no idea what Alzheimer's was.  I thought it only affected the elderly and was something that was easy to handle and maintain.  Boy was I wrong.  I came to find out that it is one of the most horrific diseases the world is facing and that we need to find a cure.  We HAVE to find a cure.

My mom started showing symptoms in 2003 and as the years went by it became more and more obvious that something was terribly wrong.  After an official diagnosis, I began to really understand what was going to happen.  What was in store for my family was nothing that I could imagine and I still look back and am in awe that we survived.  Watching my mom deteriorate before my eyes was the hardest thing I have had to watch.  The worst part of it all was not being able to help her fight against this disease.  Last year, on April 22nd, my mother passed away after a long 10 year battle with Alzheimer's.  It was the worst day of my life.

After the passing of my mother, my sister suggested that we do something together to honor her life and the struggle she went through.  My sister Rachael had run the NYC Marathon a few times with the Alzheimer's Team and she suggested that I run with her.  Even though I was never a runner, and rather scared of running, I decided to do it! It would be an amazing challenge for me.  My sister is the biggest role model in my life and I wanted to do this with her because I knew she believed in me.  

Last year I was set to run the 2012 Marathon but due to Hurricane Sandy I sadly count not.  I trained for 6 months and it was all taken away from me.  I was devastated.  But now I am back and ready to run this year.  Because I go married and went on my long honeymoon, my training has not been great... but I know that with the help of my friends and family supporting me along the way, I can run this marathon (even though my time may not be amazing!).