Sonia Astorga (right) walks with her husband Rodrigo during the “Light The Night” walk at Victory Field on Saturday, September 22. Sonia and Rodrigo walked in remembrance of his mother, Cori Lizama, who died from leukemia in 2008. Forum Newsgroup photo by Luis Gronda.
Queens residents who either lost a loved one to cancer or is a survivor of the disease had their chance to celebrate life or remember someone close to them at the “Light The Night” walk at Forest Park.
The event, which was held on Saturday, September 22, was hosted by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and its main goal was to raising funds and awareness for cancer research.
The walk featured thousands of people walking about a 1.5 mile trek around the park, which started at Victory Field. Participants held different color balloons to identify the reason at the event.
You held a gold balloon if you are mourning/remembering the life of a loved one that passed away to a disease. Holding a white balloon meant that you currently have a disease like leukemia or are a survivor of the disease and a red balloon meant that you are a supporter of the walk or knows someone who has been affected by it.
Lisa Schwerdt, the senior campaign manager from the New York City Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, was in charge of the Queens version of this event. She said that this walk gives people a chance that may have had a similar experience in dealing with a disease like leukemia to talk and to share how it was like to go through that process.
“If they lost a loved one, it somewhere that they can commensurate with other people and learn from each other, if they’re a patient or a survivor, they get to hear other people’s stories so that they know that they’re not alone,” Schwerdt said.
As for the attendees of the walk, they really took the event to heart.
Antoinette Matthews, who is a resident of Laurelton, walked for her step father, James Quinlan, who passed away from leukemia, earlier this year.
Matthews struggled to find words to describe how she felt walking for Quinlan, who was 74 years old when he died.
“At 74, he was still too young and he’s missed,” she said, wiping away tears that flowed down her cheeks.
Richmond Hill residents Sonia Astorga and her husband Rodrigo were walking for his mother, Cori Lizama, who passed away from leukemia in 2008.
It’s the fourth year that the couple has been marching for Cori, with the first time coming on the one-year anniversary of her death.
Both of them said that it was bittersweet to be at the event in honor of Rodrigo’s mother.
“We miss her and we wish that they would find a cure,” Sonia said. “We try to raise awareness and try to save other people and survivors.”
The duo said that they raise money all year round for cancer research.
Among the people that were walking as survivors is Kelly Arau, who has been symptom free of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma since last year.
Kelly said that when she was first diagnosed with that disease in 2009, she looked at it like a business deal; she wanted to just get the treatment done and go on with her life. But then it came back and changed her perspective.
“It knocked me down, it humbled me,” said Kelly, who lives with her husband Javier in Jackson Heights.
She then realized how important it was to be more involved and interact with other people who are going to a similar experience.
Kelly got the lymphoma treated again and it receded last year.
She said that participating in the walk gives her a chance to reflect on that time of her life.
“The walk for me is a chance to remember that struggle and to keep me grounded in reality,” Kelly said. “My gift of life is so much more than I ever could have thought of.”
Javier said that the experience of the walk brings up a feeling of mixed emotions for both their family and many others.
“We’re celebrating the fact that Kelly survived this,” he said. “But it’s also a chance to reflect upon all of the sacrifice and not just our own, but everyone here.”
According to Schwerdt, there was about 1,500 participants registered for the Queens walk and they were hoping to raise over $4 million in total from the three events.
The other two walks will take place in Staten Island on Saturday, September 29 and in Manhattan on Wednesday, October 3.
For more information, please visit their website lightthenight.org.
By Luis Gronda
