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A Race for Life: The Jack O’Shea Marathon Story
Start Elevator’s Owner, Jack O’Shea, never imagined he’d run a marathon—until his brother’s battle with cancer changed everything.
Start Elevator’s Owner, Jack O’Shea, never imagined he’d run a marathon—until his brother’s battle with cancer changed everything.
Five years ago, Start Elevator Owner and President Jack O’Shea wouldn’t jog around his neighbourhood – much less put his body under the pressure of long-distance running. However, after years of dedicated, gruelling training, he is now facing the major milestone of running the New York City Marathon. And for Jack, the purpose of pursuing this goal runs far deeper than just testing his physical limits. For him, it’s personal.
“My marathon journey started with my brother Morty,” Jack explains, “and the diagnosis that changed his life – and ours – forever.”
Morty O’Shea is a priest and a devoted member of the Catholic missionary order, the Society of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity, in Ireland. A keen runner himself for most of his life, Morty has run several long-distance races over the years, raising huge funds for charitable causes around the world.
However, in February of 2013, he was diagnosed with a type of bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma, which stopped him in his tracks.
Morty underwent cancer treatment in Ireland, which seemed to keep the illness at bay for some time. But in 2021, things took a turn for the worse. “There were no treatments left in Ireland to try,” Jack says, “and he was going into multi-organ failure. His doctors had done everything they could for him at that point, but they were out of viable options beyond purely palliative care. It was a hard blow for him, and for the whole family.”
Faced with what seemed inevitable, Jack wanted to explore one final option. In September 2021, he and his wife Laura arranged for Morty to see a specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Morty had already visited the hospital a few years earlier, to seek a second opinion on treatments, so he was familiar with some of the cutting-edge research being carried out there.
An experimental treatment program began for Morty, where he would receive bone marrow transplants, infusing healthy blood-forming stem cells into his body, as well as CART-cell treatments to fight the cancer’s progression. The treatments took a heavy toll on Morty’s body, and there were moments when the family struggled to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“My wife, Laura, did an absolutely amazing job caring for my brother, taking him to appointments, helping him through his treatments and supporting us all during those difficult times,” Jack says. “Cancer affects the whole family, and we fought it together as a family. I’ll be forever grateful to Laura for her tireless efforts.”
Morty responded well to his new treatment at Sloan Kettering and eventually turned the corner. Today, he has been in full remission for a year and is back in Ireland, serving the parish and community he loves.
“The life-saving results we’ve seen in my brother are all down to the care and expertise of the doctors, nurses, and specialists at Sloan Kettering,” Jack explains. “I can’t thank them enough for all they have done.”
As an expression of gratitude to his care team and the important work they do, Jack has made it his mission to run the NYC marathon in Morty’s name. His aim is to spread awareness of multiple myeloma, which has no permanent cure, and to raise money to help continue the invaluable research that saved his brother’s life – and can save many more.
Follow Jack’s marathon challenge and help support the journey of every patient battling cancer. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) works closely with Sloan Kettering and is running a fundraising effort for the NYC Marathon, which individuals or businesses can support through donations.
Please consider making a donation to Team for Cures – the runners supporting MMRF at the NYC Marathon. Your contribution helps to save lives today and for generations to come.
Donate HERE.
