It’s been a year and a half since I’ve lost my brother Matt to stage IV Melanoma.

It’s been 18 months of a lot of highs, a lot of lows, a lot of questions, and a lot of tears.

I miss Matt so much. I miss everything about him. I always tell people you never think it will happen to you (or to your family) until it does, then you are left picking up the devastating pieces. While my heart remains tethered in a knot that won’t ever come undone since losing Matt, I’ve found my own personal healing and processing of this tragedy through running. Those that know me know I’ve always been a runner. From cross country high school days to running off the post partum baby weight, running as always been a {constant} in a life filled with {inconsistencies}.

Losing Matt has changed me as a person in so many ways and I’ve taught myself day in and day out that while time doesn’t heal my heart, moving forward does. Moving forward doesn’t mean moving on. I won’t ever move on from losing my brother. Moving forward is a commitment I’ve made to myself and Matt in that I WILL CHOOSE JOY in the wake of a saddened heart, I WILL CHOOSE HOPE, in the days that my grief is so strong, I WILL CHOOSE STRENGTH when I feel the most defeated, and lastly I WILL CHOOSE BRAVERY because thats what Matt did! Matt never wavered in his fight against cancer and therefore I choose to run MILES FOR MATT in honor of him!

I’ve committed to running 26.2 miles in honor of Matt. Want to know the even cooler thing? I’m running these miles in the one and only city that Matt held most dear to his heart : CHICAGO! That’s right! I’m running the Chicago Marathon as a charity runner to help raise money to find a cure for Melanoma!! Your donation is held near and dear to my heart. It’s in honor of my beloved brother but also supporting CHANGE in a cancer that never has a good prognosis and moving forward in finding a CURE!

No donation is too small, so I thank you for any and every little bit. My vision and hope for others is that nobody has to lose a child,mom,dad,brother,sister,aunt,uncle,cousin,grandparent, or ANYBODY to Melanoma.

~Jillian (JMT2019-Chicago)

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