I first learned of Matthew Patino in 2010 during a Cattle Baron's Gala benefiting the American Cancer Society. Matthew proudly walked up on stage and shared his story of determination. I was moved by his ability to share his words of inspiration. And as a runner and coach I was inspired by his strength when I learned he clocked a 5:59 mile. You see, in 2007, at 14 years old, Matthew was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is a bone cancer and is the eighth most common form of childhood cancer, comprising 2.4% of all malignancies in pediatric patients, and approximately 20% of all primary bone cancers. The bone cancer disintegrated an area near his right ankle. Matthew and his family were faced with the decision to have a rod inserted in to his leg or amputate below the knee. They chose to proceed with the amputation. With the assistance of the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children he was fitted with a prosthesis and Matthew has never looked back since. “The night I had to make my decision I had a vision, a dream of me running on the track. That's when I said, 'I know I'm going to run again. I'm going to do the things I used to do.”- Matthew Patino.
As a member of the Holmes High School Cross Country team Matthew continues to push his limits and prove to the world that cancer will not hold him back. And it hasn't. In fact,
Matthew's story of perseverance and determination captured the interest of Runner's World and was featured twice on the magazine. The first was in a section headlined “What it takes…stories of amazing runners battling with cancer.” and more recently Runner's World provided an update in their April 2012 edition.
Matthew continues to move forward with his running by applying himself to compete at the collegiate level. He has shown interest at running at the University of Incarnate Word. Not that I needed another reason to support Matthew and his family, but Incarnate Word is my
alma mater and would be proud to se
e him run for the Cardinals.
Here at We Run San Antonio we are excited to work and support Matthew in all his efforts to bring awareness to this disease and share his story. His story is not unlike the thousands of others affected by cancer in our community but he is a unique individual in how he plans to move forward with his running. Every step he takes he is showing all of us that you can do more than you think you can and you are stronger than you think you are. And as if you needed more
proof, Matthew will be more than happy to show you his 2011 Dallas White Rock Half Marathon finisher medal. Yes, he runs those too.
“Stay to the left and hurry back runners”
Edgardo Gonzalez, Director of Endurance
