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Date: 10/12/2022
HAMPDEN – Hampden resident Kristin Trask completed the Jimmy Fund Walk on Oct. 2 in support of her 9-month-old son Warren. Warren has a condition called infantile myofibromatosis and has been receiving care from Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Warren was born with a tumor on his nose that doctors removed approximately eight days after his birth. Doctors then discovered that he had more tumors inside his body.
“We saw every doctor, every sort of team and they performed surgery when he was about a week old and were able to remove the tumor, but then realized he has approximately 14 more tumors which are all internal. He is currently a patient at the Jimmy Fund and he’s on chemo and is responding well to treatment,” said Trask.
Trask decided to sign up for the Jimmy Fund Walk while Warren was receiving an MRI. She said that she had seen signs for the walk around the hospital and decided to register at that moment to help give back.
“They’ve been phenomenal. Everyone there is so amazing and so we wanted to be able to give back as much as we could,” said Trask.
On Oct. 2, Trask completed a 5K alongside some of her close friends and family. She said that it was a great experience.
“It was great. It was a little windy, that was the worst part. We almost blew away, but it was such a good experience to be down there in the city. Everyone who was there was there for a reason,” said Trask. “Unfortunately, everyone’s touched by cancer and so to have everyone there together in solidarity was a nice experience.”
Trask said that she will definitely complete the Jimmy Fund Walk next year as well.
“I’ve already said that we’re going to plan ahead for next year. We had a couple of teammates who signed up closer to the end and so I’d rather be able to fully prepare, have more people join us and do a lot more fundraising,” she said.
Along with completing the 5K, Trask has also been raising funds to support the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Her team has raised just over $5,000.
“It was more than I ever thought that we were going to raise,” said Trask.
Her goal is to now reach $6,000 in donations before the end of October.
“All of the money goes directly to Dana Farber, to patient care and to research. The research is so important. Warren’s condition is pretty rare and so if we can help them learn more about his condition, learn more about kids that have the same condition as him and continue the research it means so much,” she said.
Trask said that the outpouring of support and donations she has received from friends, family, neighbors and even strangers have been amazing.
“You never know who’s affected, you never know who you’re helping and you really don’t know people’s stories until something like this. It means a lot and the support that we’ve gotten is unbelievable,” she said.
Those interested in learning more about Warren’s story and donating are encouraged to visit http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/warren.