I learned of Deepak’s amazing story through a dear friend. I have followed his story for over a year and although we haven’t met in person, Deepak is such an inspiration to me because of his determination, his positivity, and is resilience. In July of 2019, he experienced some numbness in his left hand during a run. A few weeks later he was enjoying a lunchtime walk and felt weakness on his left side. He called his office from his car and the employee health team responded and took him to the ER. He had an MRI which showed a mass on the right side of his brain. He was diagnosed with GBM, a highly aggressive brain cancer. He had his first surgery on July 26, 2019. Following his surgery, he underwent six weeks of chemo and radiation. But the amazing part was through all of this, Deepak continued to train for the NYC Marathon while also running 2 half marathons and the Head for the Cure 5K! On November 3, 2019, Deepak crossed the finish line of the NYC marathon (not even one month after finishing his course of treatment)! This past May, during the COVID pandemic, Deepak had his 2nd brain surgery. His recovery has been more challenging this time around but that has not discouraged him. He remains positive and focused. During all of this, he is sharing his love of running with others. Last fall, Deepak and his friends developed a running program for children passing his love and passion on to the younger generation so they develop healthy lifestyles. While I have never had the honor of meeting Deepak and his beautiful family in person, I feel God has placed them in my heart as family nonetheless. Deepak could not be more deserving of being a Keeping the Faith recipient!