Being in Community readers will remember a fundraiser earlier this year to support my friend Eyvette Hanna’s Broad Street Run to fight cancer with the Team CMMD Foundation. You all came together and helped Eyvette exceed her fundraising goal. After the run, I asked Eyvette to share her inspiring story of racing to fight cancer, and the community that came together for it. Her story includes her partnership with Ainsley’s Angels of America, an organization that helps people with differing abilities participate in endurance sports. She’s running a birthday fundraiser for them right now, which you can donate to by clicking here.

By Eyvette Hanna

It all started in April 2016 with a post on Facebook about an upcoming book launch from an old friend of mine: Dr. Christine Morgan Meyer.  I hadn’t seen her in years, and all of a sudden, I saw her post about a book she wrote called The Longest Mile.  I was very intrigued that I purchased it and read it in one day. She basically wrote her own diary of how cancer had affected her life both personally and professionally, and decided to something about it … all with a run called the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, PA.  In 2013, she gathered about 46 people and raised over $65,000 for the American Cancer Society.  And that’s how the Team CMMD Foundation was born.

In mid-March 2017, since I started following Team CMMD Foundation on Facebook, I learned that they were doing the Broad Street Run again and raising funds for the American Cancer Society.  Honestly, I wanted to help so badly, but as a little person (ie. dwarf), I have spinal stenosis where my spinal cord compresses on my nerves and causes pain and numbness on my lower back and legs. Walking (long distances) and running puts a lot of strain on my back and legs. I knew that I couldn’t run–which kind of sucked.

I was talking to my sister one day telling her about the book, the Broad Street Run, and how the Team CMMD Foundation raises funds for the American Cancer Society and themselves since they help local families with food drives, scholarships, doctor appointment transportations, etc.  I was like, “I really wish I could help them by running.” Then for some reason, I just suddenly asked her if she would run for me on my behalf.  She happily agreed to do it with one stipulation: I’d raise the funds. I said “ok, let’s do it!” 

It was literally the last day of signup right before Team CMMD closed their roster to send to the American Cancer Society.  I frantically messaged Christine that same night asking if my sister could do the run on my behalf even though she wasn’t on the team.  “ABSOLUTELY!” She said, but I’d need to email the person doing the roster immediately.  And that’s what I did.  The person signed us up and send us the link to start raising funds. My sister and I raised about $1500, and that’s how I started officially with Team CMMD.

The next year, January 2018, it was time to register for Broad Street again. I was going to ask my sister to do it again for me, but then one night, I saw a Facebook post on the Team CMMD page from a fellow team member Chris (whom I’ve never met before) asking the team if anyone knew a person who is unable to physically run that wanted to participate in Broad Street.  He’d help them run by pushing a chair. 

For some reason unknown to man, I hit my reply button.  I had so many crazy thoughts in my head: “maybe he’s not serious about it” or “ana magnoona (translation: I’m crazy and I don’t know what the heck I’m doing) but I’ll just respond.”  We started talking immediately via texts, email, FB, etc., to try to figure out how we’d get a chair and make this work.  Since I didn’t know anything about racing chairs, I naively said that I have a wheelchair that may work which was my dad’s (God rest his soul). He said that racing chairs are different that they have bigger wheels specifically for racing.  He told me that he had a business friend that may help us find a chair since she had connections with her clients.  I agreed and within a week or two we had a racing chair (or so we thought).

While the racing chair issue was worked on, of course I had to start fundraising again to get the minimum $500 fee to participate in the race.  Since this was MY FIRST TIME doing a race EVER, I wanted it to be more special/meaningful with the fundraising.  With each donation, I’d ask the donors to send me a name of a loved one who is a cancer warrior/angel and I’d be honored to wear a ribbon on my back with their name on it; Red for the survivors/warriors and white for the angels.  I myself already had 3 people on my list.  1) Of course, my mom’s name was on top of my list as a red ribbon since she is a 7-year breast cancer survivor; 2) my uncle (mom’s brother) who died of prostate cancer in 2010 (not even 2 months after my father’s death);  3) My best friend’s mom (who was like a second mom to me) was also a red ribbon cancer warrior since she had different types of cancers from tongue to ovarian for 25+ years.  (Sadly, she passed away December 2017; and unfortunately for the 2019 race, she was a white ribbon). 

But what was really troubling though, as the donations came in, my list of ribbons grew.   It REALLY hit me how cancer affects so so many lives.  I didn’t realize how much until I was making the ribbons and attaching them to my shirt.   It was really hard to keep the tears at bay. “DAMN YOU CANCER!! YOU SUCK!” Was all I could think as I attached those ribbons.

In March 2018, Chris did the Philly Love Run, a half-marathon in the heart of Philadelphia.  On the morning of the run, he sent me a picture of a racing chair he saw at the starting line.  He told me that there was a non-profit organization called Ainsley’s Angels of America that were in the race and they push people with disabilities in racing chairs.  He suggested that I’d look on their website and sign up for their newsletter just in case we needed a racing chair “backup” plan.  I signed up that day.  That was the best sign up I ever did!

Chris and I decided to meet up 2 weeks later (3 weeks before Broad Street), outside of Philadelphia.  Here I was not only nervous about the race but meeting a complete stranger which is totally out of my element and how we would be “compatible” with one another.  He was a true gentleman; we hit it off so well and we both couldn’t wait till Broad Street! 

A few days later after our lunch meeting, I kept getting text/FB messages from Chris’s business friend since Chris kept me in the loop about the racing chair. To make a long story short, the running chair from this business friend fell through.  I was so disappointed and worried that we wouldn’t get a chair in time especially since Broad Street was 2.5 weeks away!  BUT, by the Grace of God, Chris came through and contacted Ainsley’s Angels of America, the Southeast Philadelphia Chapter and got us a chair to borrow! WHEW! That was close!

Two and a half weeks later Broad Street weekend was finally here! Saturday, my sister and I stayed at a hotel for the American Cancer Society’s Determination dinner. Race day morning, I was up at 4:00 am. I couldn’t sleep, I was so nervous, and I drove my sister crazy since I was up too early, and we were in the middle of the race course so it shouldn’t have taken us long to get to the starting line.  Boy we were wrong!  Since most of the roads near Broad Street were closed, we got lost and were too far out.  By the skin of our teeth, and begging to a cop near the start line, we took my electric scooter out of my SUV and I scooted the heck out of it for a half mile and barely made it to the start with 10 mins to spare.  Even though I was relieved that I made it to the start, I was a little upset that I missed the Team CMMD picture.  Oh well!

I finally met with my partner Chris and Amanda from Ainsley’s Angels.  They got me into my chair, and we went to the start line with all the other wheelchair racers.  Even though we were the last ones of the pack to start, it was worth it because we got all the cheers from our fellow Team CMMDer’s and even a video of our cool start. 

You would think that my first race would be so long since it was the first time, but when Chris and I started first with the wheelchairs, we were done in about 90 minutes, even with a pitstop on the way! At the end I said, “That’s it?!! That’s all the hype Team CMMD was raving about?  We didn’t even see any of our green shirt teammates because we were in the very first corral and the rest of the team were in the last (pink) corral.  However, during the race Chris and I were getting thumbs up, high fives, and “good jobs” from other spectators and out-of-breath runners! Even though I felt the run was short, it was still the most amazing  experience I had; not only because it was my first race in my entire lifetime, but as a person with a disability I was able to give back physically which I’ve never thought I’d do.  I even raised over $2000 for two very important causes, the American Cancer Society and the Team CMMD Foundation!  It was a truly a humbling experience.

So, since 2018’s Broad Street Run, I’ve done 3 half-marathons and this year’s (2019) Broad Street. I’ve raised over $2500 for Broad Street with much gratitude to the members of Being in Community who donated. Also, Broad Street was extra special this year because my partner and I “cruised” with our CMMD teammates whereas last year we didn’t.

But I will say however, the week after Broad Street (Saturday May 11^th) was the most meaningful and most emotional run for me to date.  It was Ainsley’s Angels Yellow Stairway 12K.  At first, I signed up for this run because I felt that I “owed” Ainsley’s Angels for their graciousness and generosity in providing me a racing chair for all the other races, even the ones they weren’t participating in.  It turned out that I was AGAIN on the receiving end of their generosity and kindness.  You see, without me knowing until the END of the race, I was racing in the President of Ainsley’s Angels own (deceased; God rest her soul) daughter Ainsley’s chair!  To say I was shocked and truly humbled at the same time was an understatement.  And on top of that, which I thought was cool, the President and I were “dancing” at the afterparty!  Who gets to do that?!!! It will be a day I will never forget.

Thanks to Ainsley’s Angels, I’ve already signed up for other runs in the Fall including the Philadelphia Full Marathon in November. Next year hopefully, I plan to do a Ragnar relay, a two day/night 200-mile or less relay race across the state.  Not sure which state yet, but I know whatever state it is, it will be an awesome experience!

To give back to Ainsley’s Angels, for my birthday I set up a small Facebook charity fundraiser to raise funds for the Southeast Philadelphia/South Jersey chapters since I’ve created close relationships with them.  I know I’ve asked a lot of support from my friends, family, and the Facebook community for the Broad Street Run, but I feel I owe Ainsley’s Angels my full support as well since they got me on this wonderful journey of racing!

Finally, on a small side note, I’ve been taking swimming lessons for the past few months since I’ve taken out my tracheostomy tube last year and the hole had closed.  This is another feat that I’d never thought I’d be able to do in my 41 years!  Hopefully one day, not only I’d be a wheelchair racing athlete, but a swimmer as well. 

If you like to learn more about Ainsley’s Angels of America and their mission of “Together We Shall” and are an able runner or a disabled person, please go to their website at www.ainsleysangels.org and sign up to be an Angel Runner athlete, an Angel Rider Athlete (like me), or even an ambassador!  Trust me, you won’t regret it!

To learn more about the Team CMMD Foundation, a nonprofit charity of volunteers, runners, walkers, and cyclists committed to making a difference in their community and in the lives of those fighting cancer, please visit www.teamcmmd.org .

When she’s not swimming or training for another run, Eyvette Hanna works as a medical office manager and medical biller for two doctors. She is part of Queen Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church in Spotswood, NJ and serves as an administrator for the East Coast Coptic Youth Conference (ECCYC).