Run for Beau!
RUN FOR BEAU!
On behalf of Beau Christensen, a Senior on the Riverview High School football team who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, Coach Mark Cristiani and Athletic Trainer Brian Vogler will be running in the Pinellas Trail Challenge, an Ultramarathon that runs the Pinellas trail. The race is a point to point event that starts in St. Petersburg, Florida runs to Tarpon Springs and then back to Dunedin. The length of the race is measured at just over 46 miles. To date, neither Coach C or Brian have participated in any marathons of this length or toughness.
There are 1 of 2 ways to donate to this campaign. In addition to this fundraising platform, Coach C and Brian will be taking pledges for how many miles of this Ultramarathon they will be able to complete. You can donate directly to GoFundMe or you can contact them and make your pledge. After the Ultramarathon is complete, we will collect your pledge $ based on what they were able to accomplish. All money collected will also go directly to Researchers at the University of Florida’s Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy.
Should you wish to make a pledge ( x dollars per mile finished), please contact us through gofundme. These pledges will really motivate them to accomplish the entire Ultramarathon on Beau’s behalf!
BEAU'S STORY:
On April 26, 2021, high school spring football practice had started for rising senior Beau Christensen. This was his last spring football season as a high school player. He started spring with high emotions, as this was the beginning of the end for him and high school football. The week started like normal, shorts with uppers and no contact with his teammates. Five days later, players dressed in full pads and began full contact. Beau came home from practice complaining of not feeling well. As the days continued to pass his symptoms increased from fatigue, to concerns of dehydration and eventually to complaints of headaches and vision problems. One morning Beau woke up in the early morning hours with excruciating deep right eye pain along with nausea and vomiting. At that point he and his parents knew something just wasn’t right. He saw his pediatrician the next day and after an evaluation, he was instructed to get further evaluated from his ophthalmologist, an ENT, and a neurologist. The first appointment happened to be with his ophthalmologist. At 1:00pm on a Tuesday afternoon, Beau’s world would turn completely upside-down within a matter of hours. After an extensive evaluation completed by his ophthalmologist, he discovered that Beau had increased pressure on his cranial nerves along with increased pressure within the cranial space. We were instructed to go to the ER immediately for an MRI which showed a large brain tumor. Within hours of the MRI during the evening of May 25th, Beau was airlifted to UF Shand’s Hospital in Gainesville, Florida where he was then admitted and under the care of Neurosurgeon, Dr. Jason Blatt. On May 27th, after further review and studies of his MRI report, Dr. Blatt performed a 10 hour resection of the tumor within his brain. Beau remained in the PICU for 11 days recovering from the initial cranial surgery as well as one additional surgery 7 days later to insert a shunt. With the successful resection of his tumor, Beau’s treatment plan will consist of 3 rounds of chemotherapy and 6 weeks of radiation. Along with this treatment plan, Beau is fortunate enough to also be a candidate for an immunotherapy study. The University of Florida Research Department will develop a vaccine from a portion of Beau’s original tumor and Beau’s donated WBC and RBC. He will receive injections of the vaccine to fight off further growth of any possible future tumors. The total treatment plan should hopefully last 10-12 months.
Beau’s journey started with great shock and an enormous amount of overwhelming sadness and heartbreak. We are a family full of positivity, hope, and tremendous faith. Thus far, all the stars have aligned for Beau. He has been blessed with the BEST of the BEST of physicians, nursing personnel, outpouring support from family and friends and our community, and most importantly our strong belief in our Lord and Savior! All prayers have been answered and he is a walking Miracle to this day! He is stronger than he ever thought he could possibly be. We are so blessed and so fortunate in so many ways. Without the medicine and research that we have today, Beau’s story could have been written so differently. When asked if we would consider a Go Fund me page, we were skeptical. With great thought and many conversations within our family, we agreed under one condition, that the funds raised be strictly for research. Without immunotherapy, Beau’s tumor has a greater chance of returning. We feel blessed and humbled for this opportunity for Beau’s survival. We want others to have the same opportunities. We want to pay it forward, and be a part of helping others to have the same opportunity to beat this horrible disease.
We are asking for your support to help raise money for the Researchers at the University of Florida’s Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy, developing advanced personalized immunotherapy treatments for brain cancer. Your support will directly impact their efforts to help other brain tumor patients beat this disease.
We would appreciate any donation you can make for such a great cause. We have also been approached by others that would generously match the final amount donated, so there is no amount to small, just give what you can. If you are not in a position to donate financially, please consider praying for those that are struggling with any life-threatening disease. It takes an army to defeat the odds and prayer is stronger than any financial amount.
We don’t really have the words to describe how the outpouring amount of love, support and prayers have felt over the last 7 weeks, but I’m quite certain you can imagine. You all have lifted us up when we needed it most, which is beautiful and priceless. We know that God hears EVERY SINGLE PRAYER! We are truly grateful for every kind wish and every prayer lifted up in Beau’s name so once again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our family will never be able to repay this and we will forever be grateful and humbled.
Much love and appreciation-
The Christensen Family
