Cutchogue Woman, LLS 'Woman of the Year' Candidate, Running for a Cure

From crisis, stems opportunity, some people say.

Danielle Fogarty is one of those people.

Following a scary bout with an eating disorder a decade ago that landed her in the hospital on multiple occasions, the Cutchogue resident has rebounded in recent years to not only turn that experience around into a positive one, but most recently was named a candidate for the Long Island chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man/Woman of the Year Award.

The award, run in several chapters of the LLS nationwide, consists of a 10-week fundraising sprint spearheaded by individuals who have felt the impact of blood cancers and have felt compelled to respond and help find a cure. The candidate who raises the most funds by June 10 is named the man or woman of the year.

One of seven candidates named in the competition, Fogarty recalls her time back in the hospital during her sickness when asked about what compelled her to respond. Though no family members of her own have been immediately impacted by any kind of blood cancer, her time in North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset put her in touch with people who were impacted – most of whom were teens and young adults.

"They were my turning point," Fogarty remembers. "They made me realize that my life is about choices, whereas theirs is not."

Fogarty, currently a United Healthcare employee and Cutchogue firefighter with a husband (also a CFD member) and two kids of her own, took her sickness and turned it into a strength. At the time of her sickness she was running 72 miles a week, and after speaking with doctors, they agreed that if she set up a proper workout regiment and maintained her weight, she could start running again.

One of the teens in ths hospital – D'Andrea Jensen – asked if Fogarty would run for her.

"She knew she was dying. And I promised I would run for her," Fogarty said. "That's why I haven't been able to stop."

Since then, Fogarty has run 10 marathons (and a couple of half marathons) for charity – most recently at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. It was right after that when she received the news that she had been nominated.

"They could barely get the words off their lips when I gave them an emphatic YES!" Fogarty writes in a letter (attached as a PDF) she is sending to friends and family. "I was just coming off of Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and I had the mission in my veins ... I came home thinking, as I have done after every race in the past 13 years...what else can I do?"

For now, what she is doing is continuing to run. Fogarty is organizing a 5K findraiser for May 11 to honor three local woman who were affected by cancer. After that, a June softball tournament is in the works, though no exact date is set as of yet.

She's also hoping to partner with friends to host a fundraiser or two at some local breweries – her husband, James, plays in the Long Ireland Pipes and Drums Band, which is sponsored by Long Ireland Beer Co. in Riverhead, and personal friend Lauri Spitz is gearing up to open Moustache Brewing Co. around the corner with her husband Matt, who plays bass in a reggae band.

Beside holding events, Fogarty is also conducting a good old fashioned letter writing campaign, getting the word out through organizations she and her husband are already involved with as well as personal contacts. She still keeps in touch with many of the families she met while at North Shore Hospital.

"These families and kids, they make it easy for me to do this," she said. "I have healthy kids. God forbid, this was one of us ... There's only so much you can do to save people to relieve them of their grief. It's not natural to lose your children, or a young child to lose their parent. It would be so much nicer if they didn't have that grief to begin with."

Learn more about Danielle's campaign here.