Luke Puskedra thanks running community for support as his baby battles cancer

Elite American athlete Luke Puskedra ran the Olympic Trials in L.A. on Feb. 13 to finish one place and 72 seconds away from being able to compete in the Olympic Games. That however was just a small portion of the bad news that runner would receive in February.

After the race, the runner met his wife, Trudie, and daughter, Penelope, to fly to Vancouver to see family. Penelope, who is a baby, had been sick with a cold. Once in Vancouver, her grandmother– a family practitioner– saw the baby’s swollen lymph nodes and urged them to go to the hospital.

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It turned out that Penelope’s swollen lymph nodes were actually cancerous tumours. Puskedra’s daughter has Neuroblastoma.

There is good news though. His baby is undergoing chemotherapy and for children under the age of one, there is a 90 per cent survival rate. To add to the good news, the running community has shown full support of the marathon runner and his family.

When a family friend set up a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money for medical bills, the running community responded well. So far, the campaign has raised over $73, 000.

As a thank-you, Luke and Trudie went on camera to tell runners how much of an impact runners have made during this turbulent time.

“I just want to say thank you guys,” he says. “You words have helped us get through this tough time, I know it sounds cliche but I don’t know how it would have been without having the support of the running community.”

“It really means a lot to know that you guys care as much as you do.”

Nike, Puskedra’s sponsor, has also been in touch and offered assistance to the family.