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N.C. mom running 5K just months after losing foot to cancer

Just five months after having her foot amputated, young mom Jenn Andrews has announced she'll be running in the Isabella Santos Foundation 5K and she wants you to run with her.
Jenn Andrews

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Just five months after having her foot amputated, young mom Jenn Andrews has announced she’ll be running in the Isabella Santos Foundation 5K and she wants you to run with her.

It was March when we first met busy, young mom Jenn Andrews and learned about the day her life was forever changed.

“I was getting a pedicure and the woman doing my pedicure noticed a pea-sized nodule on my foot,” she said.

That nodule ended up being sarcoma, a type of cancer. And just three days after our interview, Andrews would have her right foot amputated to ensure it would never come back.

She posted a plea to Facebook the night before, encouraging those who could, to get out and move for her on the day of her surgery, saying “whether that means going for a run in the rain even if it’s crappy outside or going for a walk during your lunch break…enjoy it because you can, because there might come a day when you want to but cant.”

And hence the #MoveforJenn movement was born.

Friends, family and even strangers got up and moved the day Jenn couldn’t. When she emerged from surgery, Jenn wasted no time.

Discharged from the hospital early, Jenn was eager to start her physical therapy and to get back to doing “mom stuff” like giving her kids a bath.

At first, Jenn was taking baby steps using crutches, then taking baby steps with her prosthetic foot.

A few months later, Andrews was able to get a blade, a prothesis that would enable her to run. And this week, just five months after surgery Andrews is now running.

Not only is she running, but Andrews has plans to run the Isabella Santos Foundation 5K in September 29th. Once again, she’s asking everyone to get out and move, posting this to Facebook:

So all of the people who said when I picked my race you wanted to run with me...have you guys signed up yet?!? Day 1 with my blade and I thought I would give it a try before my PT tomorrow! My little trainer is SO happy to be running with me - he hasn’t stopped racing me for the last 30 minutes!https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/f15/1/16/1f49b.png💛 6 weeks to train and it is GAME.FREAKING.ON!! https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/ffd/1/16/1f64c.png🙌 Join team “Move for Jenn Foundation”!

Andrews said proceeds from her race team will benefit her new foundation, the Move for Jenn Foundation.

The mission of the Move For Jenn Foundation is to offer grants to sarcoma researchers and those who have suffered the loss of a limb to sarcoma.

The foundation’s goal is to raise awareness of the disease through fundraising events, while also helping amputees afford or obtain an activewear prosthetic, allowing them to regain strength and mobility faster, and get back to the physical activities they enjoyed prior to amputation, according to the foundation’s website.

And while she has made incredible progress, Andrews said she wants to remain honest, and make sure everyone knows not everyday is easy.

“So while it looks great off the bat for my circumstances, it’s for very short spurts. Nothing super impressive and I have a lot to work on as far as agility, balance, and building my endurance back,” she said.

To sign up run the Isabella Santos Foundation 5k, as part of the Move For Jenn Foundation, click here.

Andrews said she’s also hosting a “Shop for the Cure” event, Thursday, August 23 at 5 p.m. at the Shops at Waverly.

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