Sixth annual D.A.S.H. to Remember set
Dozens of people — from young children to elderly — will line up across Weston Street early Saturday, Sept. 27, to run a 5K earning money for scholarships for families of cancer patients. The D.A.S.H. to Remember 5K was begun by Chris and Andrea Mondy as a memorial to their son, Ryan Mondy, who died Easter Sunday 2008 after a battle with cancer. The first race was held in 2009. There is also a 1-mile fun run. The name, D.A.S.H. comes from a poem written in 1996 by Linda Ellis stating that the dash between the two dates — birth and death — on a tombstone represents one’s life, “how we spend our dash.”
Proceeds of A D.A.S.H. to Remember benefit the Ryan Mondy
D.A.S.H. Memorial Scholarship Endowment, a special scholarship through the Arkansas Community Foundation in Little Rock. The scholarship is designed to assist graduating seniors whose lives have been affected by cancer. The scholarship is designed to benefit a cancer patient or survivor as well as the sibling of a cancer patient or survivor, because the entire family’s life is affected when a family member has cancer.
The scholarship recipients are from all around Arkansas. A young man from Bentonville received one last year, according to Andrea Mondy.
“Ryan Mondy was an ac- tive 6-year-old boy when he went to the doctor Nov. 3, 2006, suffering from what was believed to be sinus problems. He had recently finished a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection but did not seem to be recover- ing. The doctor decided to do a CT scan and see if anything showed up. When the CT scan was done, a mass showed up in Ryan’s skull,” according to Ryan’s story on the family’s web site.
On Saturday, Nov. 4, Ryan had surgery to remove most of the tumor at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. Ten days later, the diagnosis was Level Four Glioblastoma Multiforme, a very aggressive form of tumor.
Ryan underwent radiation, chemotherapy and an- other surgery and was able to return home to Pea Ridge where he was a kindergarten student.
Ryan’s story was chronicled by his uncle Tim Mondy in “Memoirs of Miracles.” The book is available free Sept. 18-20 and 27-28 at www.amazon.com.
Runners may register for the race and the book can be ordered from the web site www.mondyfamily.com.
The Mondy’s have a daughter, Ashtyn, 16, who is a junior at Pea Ridge High School.