Love, it is said, is undefinable and a case in point is Danielle Epstein, a 32-year-old woman, who is set to run in Sunday's London marathon in honor of her ex-boyfriend whom she dumped as his battle with cancer was "damaging" her mental health.
Epstein is putting her "heart and soul" into the race in honor of her ex, Jelle Fresen, the US-based media outlet New York Post reported.
The physics teacher was cited in the New York Post as telling the South West News Service that she "felt like the most awful person", leaving somebody because they have cancer, but it was damaging my mental health, and it wasn't helping Jelle."
The pair were living their fairy tale and were planning to buy a house together but Fresen was diagnosed in September with a grade 4 medulloblastoma, at the age of 37. The software engineer was soon throwing up, suffered dizzy spells, and had difficulty even getting up from bed.
According to the New York Post report, doctors initially thought he was suffering from an ear infection, but he sought out a private MRI after his vomiting worsened.
As his treatment progressed, Epstein who always loved Jelle felt that she can't travel too far in this painful journey. Epstein said it took a toll on her mental health.
"We were on a certain path to a certain future, and within one day we knew it wasn't going to work out like that anymore," Epstein said as reported by the New York Post.
She broke up with Jelle and moved to Thailand to be with her father.
"I was having panic attacks and was on so much medication to sort myself out I just couldn't function. I still love Jelle deeply and want to support him, but I came to realize I couldn't stay with him as his partner," added Epstein while describing why exactly she left Jelle.
After brain surgery to remove his brain tumor, Jelle was left with "nerve damage, which resulted in some paralysis on the right side of his face. He also can't fully close one eye, and has a squint that gives him a double vision," according to the New York Post.
"Fresen had to learn how to walk again after 17 hours of brain surgery. He also underwent six weeks of radiation therapy and began nine months of chemotherapy. The struggle was simply too much for Epstein at the time," the publication said.
Although the pair are no longer together, they are trying to work on their friendship, the report stated.
Epstein said that she is running the marathon in Fresen's honor to benefit brain tumor research.
"I felt so helpless watching all this unfold, so I knew I had to do something," she said in the New York Post report.
Since Jelle had done marathons before, Epstein said she thought of running a marathon.
Epstein has also started a fundraiser for brain tumor research, with the goal of collecting about $12,500, the US media reported.
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