Submitted photo Donovan Stringer of Warren meets Black Widow, Supergirl and Captain America while in the hospital. Stringer is one of three local kids who will be featured as hero patients at the Akron Marathon this morning.

WARREN — For superhero fan and cancer survivor Donovan Stringer, 10, of Warren, any day is a good day to be a hero, but today he is being honored as a hero patient at the Akron Marathon.

Also being honored are two other inspiring locals — Mary Moy, 9, of Johnston and Jessalyn Harstfield, 15, of Liberty.

Nearly 11,000 people will run the Marathon this morning, which benefits Akron Chidlren’s Hospital. Along the way, runners will be cheered on by 16 hero patients and their support teams in “hero zones,” with Stringer at mile marker 11 and Hartsfield and Moy at mile marker 25.5.

“When the going gets tough for runners in the Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon, Half Marathon and Team Relay presented by First Energy, they can find inspiration in the faces of this year’s featured hero patients from Akron Children’s Hospital,” said Shawn Lyden, chief strategy officer at Akron Children’s.

Lyden said the patients were chosen to represent the hospital because they inspire with their stories of triumph over medical challenges.

DONOVAN

Diagnosed at 7 with a rare liver disease that affects only 1 percent of children, Donovan Stringer was never afraid, according to his mother, Lisa Stringer.

“At that time an 8-year-old understood what faith meant and understood what faith could do,” Lisa said.

Donovan’s cancer was discovered after a chance soccer injury.

“Before the soccer game, we were practicing and shooting balls in the goal, and I was the goalie. And one of my teammates accidentally kicked me in the stomach with the ball,” Donovan said. “The soccer injury, it bled a lot, and the tumors that I didn’t know I had at the time, and it blew up.”

An avid fan of superheros, Donovan named his cancer Darkseid after a DC Comics supervillan. He named his chemotherapy after his favorite superhero — Wonder Woman — and called his IV the “boom tube.”

Lisa said Donovan’s first round of chemotherapy gave him every side effect in the book and shrunk his soccer-ball-size tumor by just 7 percent. However, that was enough of a reduction for doctors to cleanly remove the tumor.

“Wonder Woman traveled through my boom tube to fight Darkseid until the doctors took him out,” Donovan said.

Lisa said the surgery was expected to be lengthy and leave Donovan in the intensive care unit for several days, but instead the surgery finished early and Donovan was able to go right back to his room at the hospital.

Lisa, an LPN at an Akron Children’s pediatrician’s office, said she and her husband, Kevin, were grateful for the child care center at Akron Children’s. She said Donovan’s nurses became like an extended family.

“You see things like this happen and you never think it could be your kid,” she said. “Donovan actually led our family. He was the one going through this horrible thing, but he really carried the family with his faith.”

After he was pronounced cancer-free, Donovan had the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C., to advocate for Akron Children’s Hospital and talk about the importance of Medicaid, which Lisa said helped them afford Donovan’s treatment.

“I talked to Congress and I talked to a lot of the senators, and Tim Ryan bought me an ice cream sandwich,” Donovan said.

Now in fifth grade at John F. Kennedy lower campus, Donovan is taking a theater course at school and practicing his cooking skills at home.

MARY

Mary Moy loves sports — especially softball, since her traveling league won its age group’s world series last summer in Columbus. She also loves basketball, soccer, hunting and exploring her family’s Johnstown farm.

“She is a ball of energy. She’s always happy and always has a smile on her face,” said her mother, Kelly Moy. “You wouldn’t know she has a problem unless somebody told you.”

As an infant, Mary was hospitalized several times and underwent serious surgery to realign her urinary tract, which didn’t form properly. At 2 1/2 years old, Mary had another surgery after severe kidney infections, and doctors discovered backflow valves that should prevent urine from flowing back into the kidney weren’t working properly, Kelly Moy said.

“It was supposed to be a pretty simple surgery,” said Kelly. Mary’s kidney functions started to drop, and she spent nine days in the hospital.

“It was very scary,” Kelly said.

Now, Mary manages her condition with medicine, dietary restrictions and a healthy dose of exercise.

“She’s a great athlete for 9 years old — very strong,” Kelly said.

A fourth-grader at Maplewood, Mary already has plans to go to Ohio State University to study veterinary science and play softball. Kelly said after they attended an Ohio State softball game, Mary started saving change for her college tuition.

“She’s very determined,” Kelly said. She said despite Mary’s complicated condition, nothing ever gets her down.

“She takes everything in stride. … She’s amazing in that aspect. Because, you know, it takes a toll on me. To see her and her positive attitude makes me feel a lot better about the situation.”

Kelly said Mary has “a light about her” and makes a positive impression on everyone she meets.

“As she gets older, she’s going to keep doing bigger and better things and keep being an inspiration for a lot of other people.”

JESSALYN

A rare form of dwarfism, called primordial dwarfism, hasn’t slowed down Jessalyn Hartsfield, who in her sophomore year is a cheerleader at Liberty High School.

Hartsfield’s mother, Jessica Rivera, said they live by the motto “Don’t ever say you can’t do something.”

“She has this outgoing personality. Nothing bothers her. Nothing gets her down. She’s just enjoying life,” Jessica said.

Jessalyn also has a chiari malformation, a structural defect in the base of the skull where the brain and spinal chord connect, causing her to have seizures. She suffers from sleep apnea, which she manages by wearing a CPAP machine at night.

Her mom said when she was pregnant with Jessalyn, doctors encouraged her to terminate the pregnancy because the baby had stopped growing, but she refused.

“When she was born, they told me she wouldn’t make it through the night,” Jessica said.

Jessalyn proved everyone that she was strong enough to not just survive, but thrive.

“She really never had a big issue about her size until her brother was born. She saw him growing faster than she was, and that’s when she questioned it,” her mom said. “She wanted to be the stronger, older sister, so she just pushed right through it.”

Jessalyn has attended the Little People of America Conference almost every year. The conference, which brings people with different forms of dwarfism together, allows her to spend time with other people who have primordial dwarfism, of which there are only about 125 in the world.

“Every time we go, there’s maybe 15 families,” Jessica said. “We try to be together as much as possible. It’s basically the only time that our kids can see other kids like them.”

The conference also provides a space for families to talk about different issues they’ve faced throughout the year, and to relay solutions and advice for what to expect when it comes to activities such as driving. She said the oldest person in the group with primordial dawarfism is about 37, because brain aneurysms are common.

“There isn’t a long life expectancy for them,” Jessica said. “When we see a couple people that we met pass away, it’s hard because [Jessalyn] asks why they are dying — they’re so young.”

Still, Jessalyn doesn’t seem worried — she doesn’t let anything hold her back. She has aspirations of either owning a daycare or a dog groomers, and plans to attend a vocational school.

Today at the marathon, Jessalyn and several cheerleaders from Liberty will be supporting runners.

“The girls are wearing their uniforms,” Jessica said. “She’s so excited, she can’t wait.”

avugrincic@tribtoday.com