Why We Walk: Buffalo Grove family honors son who lost cancer battle
Joshua McFadden of Buffalo Grove was a sweet and caring 11-year-old when he was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) on Feb. 2, 2016.
Joshua was passionate about the Green Bay Packers, video games and those around him. In fact, one of his favorite memories was meeting Green Bay Packer Jordy Nelson.
Shortly after his diagnosis, Joshua took a Make-A-Wish trip to Silicon Valley for a tour of Google.
Through all of this, Joshua was treated at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago by Drs. Stewart Goldman and Alicia Lenzen. Joshua underwent radiation for six weeks at Northwestern in hopes of stopping the tumor's growth.
In June 2016, Joshua participated in a trial in New York with Dr. Mark M. Souweidane. Unfortunately, this resulted in the need for a ventilator. He fought for 11 months before losing his battle on Jan. 15, 2017, leaving behind two sisters, a stepsister, parents and stepparents.
Although he has passed away, Joshua continues to impact those who have met him, as well as those who never knew him. Just before passing, Joshua asked what he had achieved in life and what was his purpose on earth - questions no 12-year-old should have to ask.
Joshua requested to have his brain and brainstem donated for research so that no other children would have to go through all the pain he went through.
In honor of Joshua turning 16 on Sept. 8, please join Team Joshua in a virtual run to support The ChadTough Foundation. You can run whenever, wherever, however you want.
Register by Sept. 4 to guarantee a shirt. For registrations received by Sept. 4, we will make every attempt to get your packet to you before the official event day of Sept 26.
All proceeds will go to The ChadTough Foundation, whose mission is to inspire and fund game-changing research to discover effective treatments for pediatric brain cancer, with an emphasis on Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
Here is quote from Tammi Carr, founder of The ChadTough Foundation, whose son Chad also fought DIPG:
"We are so grateful to be partnering with the Dluger family to honor Joshua and raise money together to fight the DIPG monster. Our boys deserved better, and we are committed to working to destroy this disease for the children who are fighting now and for those that will be diagnosed in the future.
"I signed up to virtually run in memory of my son and buddy Joshua McFadden. I hope you all sign up and join the virtual team.
"In lieu of signing up, you can support the cause and make a donation to this wonderful pediatric cancer foundation with a focus on DIPG, which Joshua fought valiantly against before it took his life. Thanks y'all!"
To sign up for this event, visit runsignup.com/Race/MI/Saline/RunToughforTeamJoshua.