JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – May is Brain Cancer Awareness month and Saturday, thousands will participate in the 5th annual Waves of Gray 5K walk at Jacksonville Beach. The money raised will go directly to benefit brain cancer research.
For Dianne Fenton Waters, this fight is personal. She launched the Waves of Gray 5K in honor of her late husband, Fred Fenton, who died less than a year after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive brain tumor.
The idea came to her after finding there wasn’t anything similar locally for brain cancer awareness. She remembers Fenton as kind, fun-loving, her soulmate.
“I always described him as the one person in this world that was made just for me,” Waters said fighting back tears. “The manliest man, gentleman, I’ve ever met. He was a tough guy, but a real gentleman.”
The two were celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary on a cruise, when Fenton got a terrible headache and spent part of their vacation resting. Over the next several weeks, his condition worsened. She said he became forgetful and unsteady.
“The headaches were bad, he couldn’t stay awake at times,” Waters said. “It was hard to wake him up at times.”
That’s when the couple received the diagnosis that changed their lives forever. Less than one year later, in November 2016, Fenton lost his battle. Spreading awareness has since become Waters’ life mission.
“It’s not talked about, it’s not very well known,” Waters said. “Anybody who will listen to me, I talk to them about it, a complete stranger, at the auto shop, it doesn’t matter. I find some way to talk about it.”
Spreading that awareness is where the 5th Waves of Gray 5K comes in. When the walk first started, it was a lot smaller on the beach. But over the years, it’s grown tremendously.
Due to its size, this year’s event starts at the Sea Walk pavilion. More than 1,100 people have signed up and roughly $102,000 has been raised for research.
Something else they’re doing at this year’s event is a sneaker donation drive. People can stop by and drop off new or gently used sneakers.
“We then turn around and ship the sneakers back to the company, and then they’ll give us compensation for the sneakers, and then they recycle,” Waters explains. “So, it’s not only a good fundraiser for our cause, but it’s a good recycling program for the planet.”
Waters urges people to pay attention to symptoms, especially if there are multiple, and to take them seriously.
“My motto is, he lost his battle, but I’m not done fighting yet,” Waters said. “He was an amazing man, he loved me, he loved my kids.”
All the money raised from the event goes right to the Waves of Gray Neuro-oncology endowment at Baptist MD Anderson.
The deadline to sign up has passed, but people can still take part.
You can sign up Saturday morning ahead of the walk, which starts at 8:00 a.m. The cost is $35.
REGISTRATION:
DONATE:
Runsignup.com/Race/Donate/FL/JacksonvilleBeach/WavesOfGray5K
Make a lifesaving blood donation appointment: (BloodMobile will be at the event Saturday morning):
