Framingham Man Runs Marathon To Remember Devin Suau

FRAMINGHAM, MA - At this time last year, 6-year-old Framingham boy Devin Suau was famously photographed hugging his mother Christine at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Suau had been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor and been given two years to live.

In the wake of the diagnosis, the family sparked the hashtag #WhyNotDevin. It soon went viral, eliciting support from local police, the Harvard Hockey team, Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell and more. Devin was even blessed by Pope Francis in Rome.

In October of 2017, Devin passed from his disease, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a rare terminal form of pediatric brain cancer that affects only 200-300 children a year.

Andrew Hohenstein’s son Oliver was skiing with Devin when his symptoms first appeared. Hohenstein remains extremely close to the family. He said he was compelled to act in the wake of Devin’s death and decided running the Boston Marathon for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was the best way to do so.

“Watching him fight for most of 2017, I needed to do something to fight for him and kids like him,” he said. “This was it.”

Hohenstein raised just over $14,000 for the Memphis-based research hospital, which offers care for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

“St. Jude was a wonderful resource for the family during Devin’s fight,” he said. “Learning about them and their mission - it was incredibly powerful. Understanding just how expensive Devin’s treatments were. People shouldn’t have to choose between rent and treatment. St. Jude doesn’t make them. Kids like Devin can fight for their life based on the best treatment, not the best price.”

Jenn Hamilton is a Regional Event Specialist for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She said Boston Marathon runners raised over $210,000 for the organization this year.

“We received over 50 applications for our marathon spots,” she said. “We have 12 bibs, plus nine runners who had their own bibs and chose to fundraise for St. Jude.”

Hohenstein, born and raised in Louisville, KY, is an Air Force veteran who moved to Boston in 2009 with his wife and four young children, Drew, Hailey, Cooper, and Oliver.

With four kids under the age of 14, Hohenstein said he had to be strategic about training for the marathon.

“Both my wife and I work, we have four incredibly active kids, and I try to help out with friends and family, including the Suaus, as much as possible,” he said. “So, time is in high demand. With that in mind, a lot of early morning and late night runs. Not the most fun, but I just kept saying kids don’t get to take a day off from cancer, I have to train. I have to fight."

Hohenstein said it reminded him more and more of Devin’s fight.

“He didn’t choose his fight, but he fought it bravely. The least I can do is brave some rain and wind and have my knee hurt a little. If anything, I look forward to it,” he said. “Because of Devin and what he embodied.”

On Sunday, Hohenstein said he would be spending the night snacking on power foods like rice, eggs and, bananas, resting, talking to his family, and then having dinner and laughs with Devin’s mom, Christine and some friends.

Running over 26 miles, Hohenstein said he would have plent of time to think of why he’s runnning this year.

“I want to think about Devin and his family and their strength, as well as my own family and my son, who still really struggles to understand all this. I hope to continue gaining perspective on how lucky I am to live he life I live with the wonderful people I have in it. I’m blessed to run this race,” he said. “Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us. Devin lived an incredible 6 years. I want to be like Devin during the race and just have a blast doing something awesome.”

Courtesy Photo / ALSAC Regional Event Specialist Renee Forsythe