FUNDRAISER FOR THE CHILDRENS BRAIN TUMOR FOUNDATION THROUGH THE 2023 BANK OF AMERICA CHICAGO MARATHON

Hello! My name is Máximo Reyes and I am the brother of a former Brain Tumor patient.

My sister, Valeria Reyes was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 7 (I was 3 years old at the time). She was told by multiple doctors that 8 months of life is all she had left and well they were severely wrong. My sister fought her battle for 5 years. Unfortunately, she passed at the age of 12 years old. Throughout those 5 years I grew up seeing all the struggles she had to go through as well as the struggles my family went through to support me, my two brothers, and her. At the time I had no idea that all the experiences I went through during those times would mold me into the person I am today. My sister was an inspiration to 100s of people and an extremely positive figure in many lives, mine included.

At the time of her diagnoses we lived in Puerto Rico, but because of the lack of medical resources for cancer patients in Puerto Rico my parents were forced to make the decision to pack the bags and move us out to New York. Throughout those 5 years of treatment in New York my father would fly back to Puerto Rico every 2 weeks to maintain his business so he could maintain us. As you can imagine the bills added up quick during those times and if it wasn’t for foundations such as the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation we would not have made it through those times. 


As a means of fundraising money for my family and for other families with kids who were battling cancer my father decided to run the NYC marathon not once, but 4x throughout the 5 years. It became a family highlight and something we all look back at and are extremely proud to share. Since my sisters passing we have remained involved with foundations that support children who are battling cancer and recently my father had requested me and my brothers a challenge that he wanted us to accomplish before he decided to hang up the shoes and give up on running marathons. The challenge was for at least one of us to step up and to challenge ourselves and run a marathon while fundraising for a bigger cause. According to him it’s a life changing experience and one I decided I want to go through.

In order for me to run I have to fundraise $1,750 and that is where YOU come in. I’ve seen first hand the positive impact foundations such as CBTF have on families lives and I would love to be able to support their mission while also challenging myself on my own mission. Every dollar donated will be going towards the foundation and their efforts to not just help patients, but make their families lives easier. I thank you for reading up until this point and I hope you feel moved to make a donation and support the cause! Any donation no matter how big or small is greatly appreciated! If you would like to learn more about me, my family, and my sisters journey feel free to reach out and I’d be more than happy to have a conversation! Once again, thank you for reading up until this point and I look forward to being able to support this amazing foundation and their efforts! 


Sincerely,