Fort Worth, TX,
13
May
2020
|
10:28 AM
America/Chicago

Young Cancer Patient Walks ULTRA Marathon Throughout Course of Treatment

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ULTRA Marathon Finisher

There's a new record holder at Cook Children's Medical Center. Nine-year-old Gabriel completed an ULTRA Marathon Tuesday, which is 52.6 miles. For the past six months, Gabriel has tracked the number of laps he's walked around the hematology/oncology unit at Cook Children's as part of the Miles in Motion program. After seeing first-time marathon finisher Joey Belles complete his race in February, Gabriel was motivated to walk even farther throughout his course of care.

Gabriel was diagnosed with Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and admitted to Cook Children's in November. Over the past six months, he has spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and his birthday in the hospital. Now that he's accomplished his goal of walking an ULTRA marathon, Gabriel has set his sights on going home, which could happen at the end of the month. 

Miles in Motion is an incentivized walking program at Cook Children's, which rewards patients with gift cards for miles walked during treatment. The program is part of a larger initiative called Exercise is Medicine, which encourages patients throughout the hospital to stay active. 

 

 

 

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