Read Time: 3 minutes
Give her 19 minutes, and Erin Hurst could run 3.2 miles鈥攖he distance of a 5K race. That鈥檚 under six minutes per mile. Now, when the time comes to zip up her own jacket, her fingers clasp the zipper slowly before she turns to her mother, Tara, for help.
鈥淟et me tell you about this girl,鈥 Tara says. 鈥淚n every race, she鈥檚 had the most amazing finish. She鈥檒l be in eighth place and pass all these girls on the last stretch. She鈥檒l kick their butts. And I feel like she鈥檚 kind of done that with cancer. She鈥檚 run the race and here at the end she鈥檚 been amazing.鈥
It was Erin鈥檚 first surgery that led her to name her cancer journey. She woke up in the recovery room and learned that the lump in her hand was in fact cancer. Then her parents walked in. 鈥淚 just looked at them鈥攁nd I was probably a little crazy because of all the drugs,鈥 Erin laughs, 鈥渁nd I said, 鈥業 just can鈥檛 wait to be the badass who beats cancer.鈥
And so 鈥淓rin鈥檚 Badass Cancer Fight鈥 began. It didn鈥檛 take long to catch on. The Hurst family hails from Cleveland, Utah, a town of fewer than one thousand people in rural Emery County. 鈥淪omeone asked my favorite color,鈥 Erin remembers, 鈥渂ut I didn鈥檛 really think about it. And then they were making blue shirts with 鈥楴o One Fights Alone鈥 on them and my hashtag: #erinsbadasscancerfight. I didn鈥檛 even know my cancer stage yet.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檙e big farm country,鈥 Tara says. 鈥淎nd we had some guys say they wanted to do a roping event for Erin. So they earned money for her that way. They came and presented the check to her.鈥
Yet Erin鈥檚 biggest surprise was the warm welcome back to Cleveland after she finished her chemotherapy鈥攖he last in her 40-week treatment.
鈥淏efore we drove into town,鈥 Erin remembers, 鈥渕y dad stopped and said, 鈥楾here are some people who want to greet you.鈥欌 Fire engines and police cars were waiting on the edge of town to escort the family.
鈥淭here were probably 200 or more people on Main Street,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd that wasn鈥檛 just people from Cleveland. There were people there who have supported me the whole way.鈥
The cars were lined up and people sat on their tailgates and open trunks six feet apart. The cheering line, Tara explains, extended beyond downtown and nearly to their home a few miles away.
鈥淎fter I got home, I set up a chair in our driveway,鈥 Erin says. 鈥淭hat was after my big chemo, and usually after that I鈥檓 just wiped out, but I was able to sit there and wave at everyone as they honked and drove by.鈥
Now, at the beginning of the end of her treatment, Erin and her family reflect on how grateful they are for their community鈥檚 support.
鈥淚 just want to help other people,鈥 Erin says as her mother nods. 鈥淪o many people have helped us. I just want to give that back and help others as much as I can. Whatever I could have done before鈥攚hatever I could have given鈥擨 just want to give more.鈥