At 78 years old, Richard Nancarrow has crossed dozens of finish lines. But his latest race isn’t about medals or kilometres. It’s about family.
The longtime runner from Ontario is training for a 10K in honour of his granddaughter, Molly Van Heuven, who has been bedridden for more than two years after a sudden battle with late-stage Lyme disease.
Molly, who is 25 years old, had been working as an emergency room nurse at Toronto General Hospital after graduating in 2022. But the following year her health collapsed, leaving her unable to work and fighting a range of debilitating symptoms.
“It’s really important that she knows family is there for her,” Nancarrow said. “That’s why I’m doing this.”
Her family says it took over a year, multiple specialists, and private testing overseas before she was finally diagnosed in December 2024. Along with Lyme, Molly’s mother told City News that her daughter has been coping with co-infections and complications including ehrlichia, Q fever, babesia, Epstein-Barr, and mold exposure.
To help cover treatments not funded by OHIP, the family launched a fundraiser called Hope for Molly: A Nurse’s Battle Against Lyme Disease. The campaign has drawn support from across the community.
For Richard, the race recalls the resilience he found in running after open-heart surgery in 2016. But this time, every stride is for someone else.
“When one falls,” he says, “family steps in stride.”
