Tue - April 19, 2005

Celebration





Having a party!

The Doktor family strove to honor his commitment this year. On the day that would have been his commencement, they held a graduation party at their new home. They had purchased the home, but had not yet moved in when Jess relapsed. Friends in Ipswich organized and executed the entire packing up and moving of their household for them. Then friends organized the repairs and upgrades to the house that made it safer for Jess to come home from the hospital. To keep Jess safe, few visitors have been allowed to see the interior since the community made that effort to move them. On April 19, the family hosted a BBQ in their backyard. It welcomed people who had helped with the move, and it celebrated William’s heroic racing efforts in the Marathon, and his professional achievement as a medical doctor. Since everyone was outside in the fresh spring evening, it was a safe way to gather friends for a celebration and yet protect Jess, who had only been home from the hospital for one day. Even throwing a party has become an accomplishment, of sorts!


A Toast to William

William was toasted with champagne, he said a few words, and he cut the yummy graduation cake. It wasn’t exactly a commencement ceremony...especially since we later learned that Newcastle’s school color is a bright fuschia pink...but it was a celebration with his friends in Ipswich, to honor a lifetime of overcoming his own obstacles (starting with paralysis from polio at age 3) to achieve amazing triumphs, for himself and to change the lives of others. He has certainly changed the lives of the Doktor family, and many other lives in our small community, and all over Boston. He has changed lives all over the world, for that matter.



Hanging out together on the bean bags

Now as a medical doctor, he opens a new chapter in his life of healing and inspiring others. Jess’s family has already heard, by email, from patients that he treated in Australia while studying. In particular, one new mother praised William’s presence in the delivery room when her new baby was born. She sought news of him on the internet, read the stories about his connection with Jess, and contacted the Doktor family. Already, William’s presence in the lives of distant families has built new relationships...and created new sources of hope, prayer and strength. The Ipswich community honors all that he has already achieved, and all that awaits him.









Posted at 10:21 AM    

Mon - April 18, 2005

2005 Boston Marathon




Pushing hard!

On Monday, April 18, Dr. William Tan raced as a qualified wheelchair athlete in the Boston Marathon for the fourth year in a row. For the first time his patient partner Jessica wasn’t at the finish line waiting for him, because she’s relapsed and was in the hospital recovering from a cycle of chemotherapy. It was a bittersweet crossing, made alone for the first time, with Jess present only in spirit...yet William’s triumph once again resonated with victory for more than just his athletic endurance and willpower...it symbolized the possibility of every child’s overcoming difficult odds, to make a difference, to achieve, and to cross the finish line.


Crossing the finish line

Last year, Jess rode across the finish line on his lap, because she was off treatment and strong enough to do so. William and Jess’s family hold onto that memory...it will be relived again in the future!

William and his beloved Stephanie have built such strong ties to the Ipswich (Massachusetts) community, that this year he had supporters all along the route. They cheered him on when some members of the Doktor family could not be there. For instance, a member of Jessica’s first grade teaching team, Lisa Gough, saw him push up Heartbreak Hill. Jessica’s dance teacher Jenny Carlson, and her siblings, were ringing cowbells and screaming at the top of their lungs as he came down the final stretch. In the grandstands, the Howes were cheering as “William Tan of Ipswich” crossed the finish line. And in the crowds, Stephanie (his companion), Chris and Sarah were cheering, then rushing to meet him afterward at the family meeting area.



Sarah and Stephanie congratulate William

This wasn’t William’s first race of the year. In fact, he was attempting to set a new record by completing seven marathons on seven continents in seventy days. He even participated in the Antarctic Marathon, and won the admiration and support of many fellow racers for his sheer grit in attempting an untried event, by being the first and only wheelchair athlete to ever compete! By Boston, he’d actually completed nine marathons. And he headed off, a few days later, to participate in two more.

To put his commitments into perspective, remember two things. Although William already holds a PhD in neuroscience, has worked at the Mayo Clinic, and has earned two post-doctoral degrees from Harvard University and Oxford University, he has wanted to be a medical doctor all of his life. In between marathons and other Olympic efforts to raise funds and awareness for children’s hospitals all over the world, he completed his medical degree at Newcastle in Australia over the past several years (taking breaks to get the post-docs). His commencement from medical school was scheduled for April 19, 2005, the day after the Boston Marathon! He chose instead to participate in this race with Jess, because he has done so every year since she was first diagnosed in late 2001. He opted to forego perhaps the most meaningful ceremony (to date) of his action-packed life.


William shares his marathon medal

Remember also that he gave this year’s Boston Marathon medal to Jess. He has a lifetime of such achievements to hold onto, including the first few medals from this race. This year, like last, he gave his medal to Jess. It’s not that each race means less than the last one...each one is invested with more mental energy, more hope, more expectation, because he has so many supporters in the crowd. It’s simply that he doesn’t hold onto such worldly trophies, when he can share tangible symbols of survival and accomplishment with younger souls like Jess who need to wear and touch and see them.

This is perhaps the only Marathon in the world where his personal connections run so deep. He competes not just as an athlete to set personal records, but as an achiever whose efforts can make a difference in the care of children and research and treatment for cancer...the Doktors and Dr. William Tan have raised funds for Children’s Hospital in past years, where Jess’s inpatient treatment for childhood leukemia occurs.



Posted at 09:39 AM    

About William...

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