Lisa de Lusignan crossed the finish line in the Royal Victoria Marathon half-marathon race Sunday and immediately rushed to her husband’s wheelchair and bent down and buried her head in his chest.
De Lusignan is an avid runner and Tim Kite has followed to watch his wife run in races, including the famed marathons in New York and Chicago and as far afield as the Bahamas.
It provided a special bond between the Cobble Hill couple over their 23 years together as de Lusignan completed 13 marathons and numerous races of other distances. Kite has always been there to encourage and support her.
The Royal Victoria half-marathon was the last time Kite will watch his wife race. The 66-year-old carpenter and builder — who de Lusignan said “did such beautiful work on houses around the region” — was diagnosed this year with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
ALS is a terminal neurodegenerative wasting disease in which the ability to move, talk, eat and breathe are eventually all lost.
Kite has chosen an assisted death scheduled for Nov. 2 through the MAID program.
De Lusignan said her husband was diagnosed in July.
“It is tragically horrible,” said de Lusignan, a therapist. “We can’t do anything about his condition and Tim wanted to go before his breathing stopped.”
Royal Victoria Marathon organizers gave Kite’s wheelchair the spot closest to the finish on Belleville Street so he could watch his wife cross the line one more time.
“He will never see me race again,” de Lusignan said.
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