January 11, 2002
One of the brightest spots in the winter season came in the form of a shining torch — symbolizing the spirit of the Olympic games — passed through the streets of Boston last month. The Olympic Torch Relay consists of a 65-day, 13,500-mile journey across the United States. Torches are carried by 11,500 runners, each nominated for outstanding achievements and carrying their torch for two-tenths of a mile.
The torch made its way through the Boston area Dec. 27. Among its proud bearers were four running on behalf of the MGH, including two former MGH patients and a hospital physician.
Thirteen-year-old
Lindsey Beggan, of Medfield, Mass., (pictured with her father, right,
and her physician, Howard J. Weinstein, MD, chief of MGH Pediatric Hematology/Oncology,
left) carried the torch from Berkeley to Arlington Street in the Back
Bay section of Boston. Lindsey was treated for bone cancer by Weinstein
at MassGeneral Hospital for Children three years ago. Physicians had to
remove several of her ribs and rebuild her chest wall with mesh fabric
because of the damage caused by the cancer. She has since made a full
recovery and actively participates in athletics. Lindsey’s father,
Paul, has run the Boston Marathon on the MGH team for the past three years,
both in honor of Lindsey and to raise money for pediatric cancer research
at the hospital. Paul Beggan also carried the Olympic torch, racing through
the Dorchester neighborhood.
Also participating in the torch relay was Bryan Gothie, a 25-year-old survivor of osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Throughout his battle with the illness, Gothie was treated by the MGH Pediatric Oncology Clinic and by Mark Gebhardt, MD, co-director of the MGH Connective Tissue Oncology Center. Gothie also ran through Dorchester bearing the torch.
Rounding out the MGH torch relay representatives was James Gordon, MD, of MGH Emergency Services. Gordon carried the torch down Boylston Street in downtown Boston. The relay will conclude in Salt Lake City — home of the 2002 Winter Olympics — in February.