I am walking this race to honor the people who have suffered from heart or stroke related conditions, either personally or through family or friends. 

I am especially honoring my friend Dardo Dela Cruz, who inspired and motivated me to go on my first 5K walk in 2019, after I relearned how to walk following a traumatic brain injury.  As an OTA, Dardo helped thousands of patients, many of whom were recovering from strokes. We lost Dardo earlier this summer as the result of a cardiac arrest.