In June 2009, Jesse Hood and his wife noticed spots forming on his seven month old daughter, Lydia’s body. “I just thought ‘Oh she has spots, sort of like birthmarks’,” Hood said.

At Lydia’s nine-month-old check up, the doctor diagnosed her with Neurofibromatosis, a disease that causes one to grow tumors on any part of the body.

 “About 80 percent of the people that have this have the disorder and nothing really happens. The other 20 percent grow tumors. She’s fallen into that 20 percent,” Hood explained.

 Lydia developed Optic Glioma’s, or tumors, behind each of her eyes.

  “We’ve been monitoring these two tumors and in the last six months or so they’ve grown about 40 percent which is extremely alarming,” Hood said.

The Neurofibromatosis Walk is sponsored by the Child’s Tumor Foundation, through which Hood and his wife found the walk. The money raised during the walk goes towards research on the disease and medical programs. There will also be a fundraiser at Palio’s Pizza on Tuesday September 13, where 20 percent of the profit made that night will go towards Team Lydia.

  “The US Army is the number one researcher in finding a cure for this… as we all know the government has slashed budgets in a serious way and one of the first things to go is research,” Hood said.

In order to raise money, Hood formed a team for the NF Walk named ‘Team Lydia’. As the team captain, Hood decides how much money to raise for the walk.

  “I thought ‘Hey, let’s put in 1000 dollars, shoot for gold, you know?’” Hood said, “Never thinking we’d ever make that. And as of right now, we’re at 2500 dollars.”

 The walk is to take place on September 17 in Veterans Park, 3600 W. Arkansas Lane, located in Arlington. The walk is 2.2 miles long, and runs in a circle so there are many places to rest along the way.

 “It’s gonna be light-hearted, a very casual walk. There’s no competition,” Hood said.

 Check in and registration starts at 8 a.m., while the walk begins at 9 a.m. There will be a carpool leaving Trietsch Methodist Church at 7:30 a.m. Pre-registration cost for an individual is $20, and on site is $25, and a family of four is $40, and on site is $45. Pre-registration deadline is September 15.

 You can register or donate here, at CTF.org/nfwalk, under the Dallas Walk.