When Tammy Paull competed as a walker in The Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Run and Walk for the first time two years ago, she viewed it as little more than an extension of an already successful exercise routine.

She didn’t do it for awards. She didn’t do it for money. Her goal was to just finish—which she did in two hours and 43 minutes.

“I basically walked that race just to walk,” Paull said. “I had a great time.”

While the course certainly proved to be a formidable foe for Paull that rainy May morning in 2005, the Wheeling native wasn’t deterred. In fact, the experience pumped her up for a repeat performance.

“I couldn’t wait to do it the next year,” Paull said.

And she did. This time she crossed the finish line nearly 30 minutes faster than the year before, resulting in a sixth-place overall finish.

As Paull prepares for another possible shot at this year’s event—slated for Saturday, May 26—she is looking forward to challenging herself again.

Challenges are nothing new for Paull.

The Wheeling Park High School and Bethany College graduate has overcome obstacles that have strengthened her faith and reaffirmed her belief that family comes first.

In April 2001, Paull was in her 13th year as a flight attendant with American Airlines when she started noticing signs that something wasn’t right.

“I was having some numbness on my left side,” she remembered. “It first started in my hands, my left hand and arm. And then it went to the left side of my face.”

About 22 weeks pregnant at the time, Paull visited her doctor for a check-up and ended up being scheduled for an MRI later that day.

Within hours, Paull was told she had a tumor in her brain the size of a tangerine.

“When they told me that I was just kind of numb to the news,” Paull recalled. “I was sort of in disbelief a little bit.”

Paull’s parents were with her when she received the diagnosis. They, too, struggled to comprehend how such a thing could happen.

“They had a difficult time with it,” Paull said.

Two weeks went by before Paull underwent surgery to remove the tumor.

But little did Paull know that as she was about to fight one challenge another one was beginning.
“I was on my way down to surgery when my father suffered a stroke,” she said. “They didn’t tell me until the day after my surgery.

“I think all of those things put together was a lot for my family to handle.”

Paull gained strength from her mother, who watched as her husband and daughter battled life-threatening medical issues at the same time.

“I can’t imagine what (my mother) had to be going through at that time,” Paull said.

Fortunately, Paull’s surgery went well and her tumor was found to be benign. She goes back to get an MRI once a year to make sure everything is all right. After six years, she remains tumor-free.

As for her father, Paull reports that he, too, is doing well.

“At first, I was like ‘Why me, why me,”’ she remembered. “But as the process went on, I realized how lucky I was to have made it through that situation.”

Paull always maintained a positive outlook during this rough period in her life, but she credits her family’s strong religious beliefs for helping them get through it.

“It must have happened for a reason,” she said.

“I think when you go through something like that you can’t help be changed in a way. I think what I’ve learned is you have to keep things in perspective. And I do feel that I was blessed that things turned out the way they did.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t remember what happened. I don’t take a lot for granted anymore.”

Paull’s surgery required her to take a medical leave from her duties. With American Airlines, she frequently worked on a now-famous route that went from Washington, D.C’s Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles and back.

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists took control of one of the planes on that route—Flight 77—and crashed it into the Pentagon. Everyone aboard the plane—including six crew members—was killed.

“There was a very good chance I could have been on that flight if I had been working,” Paull said. “I had four very good friends on that plane.

“I think that was another reason, perhaps, that I got sick, which was the reason I wasn’t flying that day.”

Paull will never erase the images of that fateful day from her memory.

“I remember sitting at home the morning it happened watching the news like everyone else was and I just sat there and just started to cry,” Paull said. “I can’t even imagine what those families were going through.”

A few months later, Paull stepped away from her job. While the Sept. 11 tragedy certainly weighed in her decision, it was Paull’s wish to spend more time with her family, especially her daughter, that was at the forefront of the move.

“You have to prioritize what’s most important to you,” she said.

These days, in addition to her walking, Paull spends time volunteering with various local organizations and her church and serves a teacher’s aide two mornings a week.

It’s a full life. And Paull wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m very happy and each day is something new,” she said.