Helping Each Other Along Life's Course

Helping Each Other Along Life's Course By Stephen Clark LA Times Staff Writer

By mile 18 of the 2003 San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, first-timer Daniella Ruiz, 36, had reached her breaking point. With a blister the size of a golf ball on the sole of her left foot and virtually nothing left in her tank, she plopped down onto the pavement, pulled out her cellphone and called her mother, Iris Ruiz, who was waiting for her at the last mile.

"Mom, I can't take another step," she said, sobbing.

"Yes, you can," said the elder Ruiz, who had recently endured four months of chemotherapy - losing her hair, losing weight and losing her strength - after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which was now in remission.

She had prevailed, she said, and her daughter could too. "I'm going to send angels to lift you up on your feet, and I'll be waiting for you at the finish line. If I endured those days at the hospital, there's no reason why you can't get up and walk to the finish line."

Daniella Ruiz tucked away her phone, got up and limped the final eight miles to the finish line. There, she fell into her mother's arms.

" We hugged and sobbed for the longest time." Daniella said.

Since then, mother and daughter have gotten through seven more marathons, traveling as far as Honolulu. Daniella does the running. Her mother gets her to the finish line, meeting her in the final mile. Together, the two walk hand in hand to the end.

For Iris and Daniella, the last mile of each marathon gives them a chance to show the power of holding on despite the odds. Family members often run or walk races in honor of their loved ones, but "it's very uncommon for the patient to be able to participate in such a wonderful way," said Liz Olsen, national spokeswoman for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the beneficiary of the national team Daniella runs on. "The patient is often at home, unable to participate in the last mile."

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