In February 2023, Forrest Reda, with NewYork-Presbyterian's help, was able to donate a portion of his liver to save his brother-in-law's life. Now he's running the TCS New York City marathon to help provide greater access to this important procedure for more patients.
Two years ago, Forrest Reda, Neesha Tandon, and their family learned some unfortunate news: beloved family member Ankush Tandon, Neesha's brother and Forrest's brother-in-law, was suffering from a severe decline in health due to primary sclerosing cholangitis—a creeping and eventually fatal disease of the liver.
Forrest Reda, Neesha Tandon, and Ankush Tandon.
Choosing to confront this harrowing development with all his might, Forrest decided to donate a portion of his liver to Ankush. This act of tremendous love turned out to be an amazing success, with care teams at NewYork-Presbyterian successfully completing the 18-hour surgery earlier this year.
Thanks to the experts at our Hospital and Forrest's incredible generosity, Ankush's health was stabilized, and he is now in recovery. Motivated by his own penchant for adventure and the support he and his family received throughout this experience, Forrest decided to run this year's TCS New York City marathon in support of NewYork-Presbyterian. After his discharge, he started walking to the hospital from midtown every day to visit Ankush. Once Ankush was able to go home and continue his recovery, they would walk along the East River together, slowly regaining their strength. The NYC Half Marathon was scheduled exactly 6 weeks after the transplant, and Forrest made it his goal to complete that distance—with Ankush cheering him on.
Once that goal was achieved, Forrest decided to train for the Full Marathon in the fall, 9 months from the date of the transplant and is running with NewYork Presbyterian’s Team Rehab. Read more about this incredible story and how to support his campaign here.
If you would like to learn more about supporting a marathon runner or other ways to help support NewYork-Presbyterian, contact Donor Engagement at [email protected] or (212) 342-0798.