WILMINGTON—The new track and field at Holly Tree Elementary School is just the place Myra Parry would have let her son Bryson break his “chemo rules.”
Parry, a teacher at Holly Tree Elementary, remembered her son Bryson at a dedication Tuesday in memory of Bryson and his classmate Jake Hatton, who were both third-graders at Holly Tree when they lost their battles with cancer.
Before Bryson’s death in 2009, Parry would allow him on occasion to break his strict “chemo rules,” which call for very little activity while receiving treatment, so the fun-loving, lighthearted little boy could feel like an active little boy.
A “superhero,” Bryson loved to be outside, and would have thought the new track and field were “amazing,” Parry said.
“Jake is in heaven now with Bryson. He touched so many lives,” Parry said about her son’s friend.
With the entire school population sitting before her at the dedication Tuesday, Parry urged the students to walk and run the track in memory of Bryson and Jake.
“We can all think of one thing we can do to make this day brighter and this world better. Isn’t it amazing what we can all do together?” Parry told the children.
And, just in case any student hadn’t heard the words that day, Parry added, “I love you.”
Following the dedication and ribbon-cutting, every student and teacher took an inaugural lap around the track.
The road to the track and field was four years in the making. Through fundraising, community donations and the school’s Cardinal Strut races, they were able to raise the $33,000 needed to build the quarter-mile track at the school.
This year’s Cardinal Strut, which includes a 10K, 5K and 1-mile fun run, is Saturday, March 2.
For race information, click here.
Reach Caroline Curran at (910) 772-6336 or [email protected]. On Twitter at @cgcurran.
