CLEARWATER — Brenda Stima fought a blood cancer that weakened her immune system and bones. She faced painful treatments and setbacks.
Still, she pounded the pavement.
It was the 2008 Disney half-marathon in January, a 13.1-mile trek. Before the race, she had only practiced walking 8 miles when radiation interrupted her training schedule. In the moment, she had to rely on adrenaline, cheers from the crowd and sheer will.
Step by step, she pushed on. Her teenage son, John, was by her side, pulling her hand when she tired. In the end, she finished, raising $3,718 to fight cancer.
Mrs. Stima died Sunday at home in Clearwater surrounded by her husband, Doug, and children, John and Jessica. She was 43.
Hundreds of people came to the memorial at her church, St. John's Episcopal in Clearwater. When she was hurting most, they said, she gave back. Like when her priest, the Rev. Glad McCurtain, battled breast cancer, Mrs. Stima and her husband sent text messages to say, "You're in our prayers."
"The family was about reaching out," McCurtain said. "They were always the friends in the community. They would always talk about the church and how wonderful the church has been. But they have been such a blessing to St. John's. They were part of God's community."
Mrs. Stima volunteered at her children's schools. At church, she worked with the Sunday school, youth group and church acolytes. She chaperoned mission trips to Kentucky, Pine Island and the Florida Keys.
"She was out there in the heat," said parish administrator Marlene Eichelberger. "She was truly an exceptional person. She just had an incredible outlook on life. I don't know how she did it and kept forging through. She always had a smile on her face, no matter how bad she was hurting."
Mrs. Stima battled the multiple myeloma for about four years. In 2006, her sister Beverly flew from England to donate stem cells. On that visit, the whole family went to a hair salon for a group head shave. Mrs. Stima kept her sense of humor as her curly auburn hair fell to her hands.
"Actually, I was kind of tired of the curls," she then told the St. Petersburg Times.
Every Saturday, she and her son woke at 5:30 a.m. to walk with the Team in Training organization, which raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. Once, John gave his tired mother a piggyback ride up the Dunedin Causeway.
Mrs. Stima belonged to a moms' prayer group at her church, Eichelberger said. In the group, she wrote a prayer of her own. It said she wasn't afraid to die. She just wanted God to take care of her family.
Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8857.
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