Personal Profiles
Amy Jo Parker
April 17, 2007
For runner, patient partner, Dana-Farber cause parts the clouds
Katie Durkin (with hood) and her family await Amy Jo Parker's arrival in Kenmore Square
Neither wind nor rain nor cold nor nor'easter could stop the 111th running of the Boston Marathon® on Patriots' Day, or members of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team who participated in the event. Amy Jo Parker, for one, found inspiration to brave the elements and the 26.2-mile course from 11-year-old Katie Durkin.
Durkin, now cancer-free from soft tissue sarcoma, is a member of the DFMC Patient Partner Program. To take part, DFMC runners submit applications to be paired with current or former pediatric patients. The program gives the runners a better understanding of the cancer experience, and patients the knowledge that they are not in this alone — others are out there working just for them.
Though many of these pairs were first introduced at a "Meet Your Match Party" in January, Parker learned about Durkin through a close friend who is the girl's uncle and has been involved with many facets of her care. Parker requested Katie as a partner, and the two had their initial meeting at a dinner with the preteen's family.
"We both wanted a big slice of chocolate cake for dessert," says Parker, 34, a special needs teacher. "Turns out we share a love of sweets." Adds Durkin, who wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, "I like hanging out with Amy Jo because she's fun and we both like to talk a lot."
Amy Jo Parker and Patient Partner Katie Durkin meet up at Mile 25.
These aren't the only traits the two have in common. For both of them, this marathon was a family affair. The Durkins attended all the prerace events together, including a poster-making party at the Boston Sports Club in Waltham where Katie and the other young Patient Partners decorated blown-up photos of themselves, along with sugar cookies to munch on. Then, the night before the April 16 race, they were joined by uncles, aunts, cousins, and Parker at the DFMC Pasta Party held to feed each runner's body and spirit prior to the big day.
"This has been a rough year for Katie," says her dad, Jim Durkin. "She's been tough and courageous through everything. All the extra attention has really made a difference for her."
Parker's mom and dad also joined in the experience, volunteering at water stops during all the training runs. A seven-time DFMC runner, Parker first ran to honor her brother RJ, a 10-year survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who was treated at Dana-Farber.
"My brother took part in a clinical trial with experimental drugs," explains Parker, who also recently lost an aunt and an 18-year-old cousin to cancer. "The program we run for is the same one that helped him. We're running for cures."
Like all DFMC team members, Parker is supporting the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber by raising funds for up-and-coming investigators here whose novel work is not yet eligible for larger grants - making private funding essential.
Institute Trustees J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver established the program in 1987 to honor Delores' mother, who died of cancer. The 553 members of this year's DFMC contingent — including several Dana-Farber staff members — expect to raise more than $4 million, including the Weavers' generous personal challenge grant. Since the Marathon Challenge's 1990 inception, the team has garnered more than $30 million to support the work of 100 physician-scientists chosen as Barr Investigators.
The big finish
Parker crosses the finish line, trailed by Katie's sister, Sarah.
It is at mile 25, on the Beacon Street bridge just outside Kenmore Square, where Patient Partners await the marathoners running especially for them. Despite the rain, Durkin and her family eagerly anticipated Parker's arrival; Katie's uncle Mike, Parker's friend, was planning to run the last leg with her.
"The marathon initially started out really well," says Parker. "The weather cleared up so I took off my jacket. Then, of course, a mile later it started raining."
Fortunately, her brother had a dry T-shirt for Parker at mile 10. When her asthma acted up from the weather, friends met her at different mile markers with an extra inhaler, hot tea, and snacks. The help pushed her on to the bridge and Durkin's family, but when she arrived the entire group decided to walk the last mile together.
"With the bad weather, I wasn't really concerned about my race time," Parker recalls. "When I got to the bridge before mile 25, I was almost sprinting to see everybody. It was great to see Katie. When she said 'thank you so much,' that made it all worth it."
