Pony Express Days 5K benefits Eagle Mountain family
Timothy Brown swings his nephew, Tommy Brown, 5, about as they joke around after Timothy finished the 5K Cupcake Charity Run on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at the SilverLake Amphitheater in Eagle Mountain. The race benefitted the Brown family, including Tommy, who has Leukemia. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Shelly Anderson, of Eagle Mountain, shows a shirt to a perspective buyer during the 5K Cupcake Charity Run on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at the SilverLake Amphitheater in Eagle Mountain. Anderson volunteered at the race, which benefitted her son in the past. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Runners near the finish line during the 5K Cupcake Charity Run on Saturday, June 2, 2018, near the SilverLake Amphitheater in Eagle Mountain. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Timothy Brown high-fives his sister, Judy, at the finish line during the 5K Cupcake Charity Run on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at the SilverLake Amphitheater in Eagle Mountain. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Tommy Brown, 5, covers the face of his father, Tom, as they joke around during the 5K Cupcake Charity Run on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at the SilverLake Amphitheater in Eagle Mountain. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Cupcakes wait to be eaten by finishers during the 5K Cupcake Charity Run on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at the SilverLake Amphitheater in Eagle Mountain. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
The Eagle Mountain community came out to support one of its own during Pony Express Days on Saturday.
It was perfect weather Saturday, as hordes of runners raced down Unity Pass to the SilverLake Amphitheater during Cupcake Charity’s annual Pony Express 5K. They were running for many reasons, but their entry costs went to helping a local family.
Tom and Judith Brown have only been living in Eagle Mountain for just over a year, but it’s been a tough one. A little more than two years ago, Judith was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent the multiple treatments and surgeries that accompany a diagnosis like that. Her recovery was lengthy, lasting throughout last year. Her husband said she still has some treatment left to do.
Breast cancer is difficult enough, but on top of that, doctors found last year that Tom Brown has a unique heart condition. Between he and his wife, he said, they underwent six surgeries just last year alone. As 2018 rolled around, they thought things had to go better.
“We were planning on a clean slate this year. On Jan. 1, we were sitting there, saying this year was going to be good,” Tom Brown said in a phone call Thursday.
But only a couple of weeks later, their 5-year-old son, Tommy, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“So we’ve been fighting with leukemia since then,” Tom Brown said.
The medical bills have been mounting, and Tom said it seems as soon as they pay off one, another one shows up in the mail. They still owe at least $7,000 on Judith’s bills, and with the aggressive treatment they have Tommy on at Primary Children’s Hospital, they have no idea what those bills will tally up to. Tommy spends four days at Primary Children’s every other week.
“It’s been tough, but we’ve had a lot of support through this,” Tom Brown said. “We get done with one thing, then we just go onto the next.”
The Browns were shocked when they heard they would be the beneficiaries of the Cupcake Charity Pony Express run — because of all their health issues, they hadn’t heard about the run before.
The Cupcake Charity nonprofit, organized by Eagle Mountain resident Sheena Norman and a close group of friends, has been around since 2010. Norman said they first started the charity to raise funds for a friend’s husband who was suffering from a brain tumor. After that experience, they decided to continue fundraising efforts through fun runs, 5Ks, parties and bake sales, helping about two families each year.
For years, they’ve run the Pony Express 5K, helping Eagle Mountain families with their medical bills each year. They felt privileged to help the Brown family, Norman said.