Roxbury PBA 311 5K Charity Run/Walk 2026

Description

Our third annual charity 5K will be held on June 27, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. The event will take place at Horseshoe Lake in Succasunna NJ and all proceeds will go to Erin, Gianna, and Johnny.

Erin’s Story

In early April 2025, Erin began experiencing what seemed like seasonal allergy symptoms, including headaches, severe congestion, and swollen, watery eyes. Her pediatrician recommended allergy medication, but after a week there was no improvement. As the swelling in her face worsened, she was taken to an ENT, who also suspected allergies, adjusted her medications, ordered allergy testing, and gave her a cortisone shot.

The allergy testing showed only very mild pet dander and outdoor mold allergies, not enough to explain the severity of her symptoms. Around the same time, Erin also began having random fevers, increased fatigue, and leg pain. A follow-up visit with the ENT led to a suspected sinus infection or adenoid issue, along with prescriptions for steroids and antibiotics and an order for a CT scan. The scan showed severe inflammation and fluid in all of her sinuses, but the recommendation was to continue the same treatment.

Although treatment continued, concern remained that something more serious was causing Erin’s symptoms. An appointment with an immunologist was scheduled for further testing, and a CBC was requested along with allergy bloodwork. At 3 a.m. the next morning, an on-call doctor called with instructions to go to the ER immediately. Erin’s white blood cell count was 75,000, when it should have been around 12,000.

On July 8, Erin was officially diagnosed with high-risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Since then, she has endured hospital stays, extensive testing, bone marrow biopsies, spinal taps, and chemotherapy. She still has a long road ahead, but by the end of this July she is expected to finish the most intense phase of treatment and move into maintenance, with full remission expected by November 2027. Deep gratitude remains for the love, support, kindness, and generosity received from family, friends, and the community.

Gianna’s Story

Last spring, Gianna began showing signs that something was not quite right. She had low energy, inconsistent fevers, needed naps after school, and had a poor appetite. A visit to the pediatrician led to three rounds of bloodwork, all of which showed abnormalities and inconsistencies that did not point to a clear diagnosis. She was then referred to a hematologist at the Valerie Fund Center at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, where additional testing was done.

In June, a bone marrow biopsy was performed to investigate further. The results were mostly inconclusive, though they did reveal the presence of a virus that should have remained dormant. At the time, doctors believed this may have been stressing her bone marrow and affecting its ability to function properly. A follow-up visit was scheduled for July, with the hope that either the condition was too early to identify or her body would recover on its own. However, when she returned in July, her bloodwork continued to show abnormal trends and signs of systemic inflammation without providing a clear answer.

A second bone marrow biopsy was performed in August, and this time doctors saw leukemic-looking cells beginning to multiply. In June, those levels had been less than 0.5%, which was considered inconclusive, but by August they had risen to 5%, raising serious concern for a possible leukemia diagnosis. Because the levels were still relatively low, a third bone marrow biopsy was scheduled for the following month. During this time, a second opinion was also obtained at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City, where additional bloodwork and testing were completed to rule out lymphoma, bone marrow production disorders, and underlying genetic conditions.

On September 30, Gianna received an official diagnosis of B-cell leukemia after the third bone marrow biopsy confirmed an increased presence of