Superhero Run in Bethel Park honors memory of Joey Fabus
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Photos show a boy with a particularly engaging smile, whether he’s hanging out with family members and friends, or wearing a custom-made Bethel Park Police Department uniform.
Some of the images on the Joey Fabus Childhood Cancer Foundation, though, are of an 8-year-old boy with an altered appearance caused by his treatments, including the administering of steroids. But he continues to display a sense of optimism and courage while dressed in his Superman outfit.
Joey died in early 2015 from the effects of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a brain tumor. But his memory is celebrated with an annual event that helps raise money toward finding a cure for the disease.
The Joey Fabus Superhero Run Over DIPG 5K Race/Walk will be held at 9 a.m. Sept. 17, starting at Bethel Park High School with the course winding through local neighborhoods. Last year, more than 400 people participated.
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This year’s special guest is 3-year-old Hazel Brown of Port Clinton, Ohio, who was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma on July 3. About 300 children in the United States receive such diagnoses annually, and just a small percentage of patients survive the highly aggressive disease, according to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, a clinical affiliate and research institute of Harvard Medical School.
Hazel’s treatment involves four-hour round trips to and from the University of Michigan. Her mother, Leah, had to quit both of her jobs to be able to take Hazel to radiation and her many doctor’s appointments, with a correspondingly heavy financial impact on the family.
A portion of the Joey Fabus event proceeds will go directly to the Browns to help with medical expenses. More information about them is available at Healing for Hazel, www.facebook.com/groups/804328591362127.
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma occurs in an area of the brain called the pons, which controls many of the body’s most vital functions, such as breathing, blood pressure and heart rate. As the tumor continues to grow, it causes the child to lose his or her ability to talk, walk and swallow.
Register for the Joey Fabus Superhero Run Over DIPG 5K Race/Walk at bit.ly/3CXzsZ8. Please direct any questions to David Fabus at 412-758-1121 or fabusangels6pgh@verizon.net.
Visit the Joey Fabus Childhood Cancer Foundation at www.jfccf.org.