SAN ANTONIO – Over the years, the Head for the Cure 5k in San Antonio has given participants a way to honor and remember their loved ones, like Naomi Olivares, whose son, Gilbert Cordaway, died from brain cancer at the age of 11.
On Dec. 17, 2024, Gilbert Cordaway would have turned 21 years old.
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“To know him was to have loved him,” said Olivares. “He was just a very spontaneous, adventurous kid.”
Naomi Olivares said her son, Gilbert, was 11 years old when he was diagnosed with stage 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme, which is an aggressive type of brain cancer.
“They did the brain scans, and they wanted to do a biopsy to see if it was cancerous or not,” said Olivares. “So, we got the call. We went over there, and it turned out it was (cancerous).”
Naomi said her son, who the family lovingly referred to as “P-Nut,” saw specialists and underwent radiation and chemotherapy, but nine months later, in February of 2015, he passed away.
“Not how I would have wanted him at all,” said Olivares as she held her son’s remains in an urn. “It still hurts a lot.”
P-Nut’s older brother, James Cordaway, who is now 22, tells us he was 13 years old when his little brother was diagnosed with brain cancer and that everything happened so fast.
“It kind of leaves me just wondering what, what would have been his plans for the big 21?” said James Cordaway III about his younger brother. “Just like, alright, well, what would you need me to do? Like what? What are the plans that I have for you for it?
“He really was a fun kid,” said Naomi Olivares. “He really was and it would have been amazing to know what he would have wanted to have done for his 21st birthday.”
As painful as his death was, Olivares says she found some comfort in participating in the Head for the Cure 5k as a way to honor her son.
“It really is a safe haven for all the families going through this,” said Olivares. “Especially for the kids that have suffered with the disease. It’s just really … not for the weak.”
“To see other people going out there and doing the same thing, it’s definitely comforting to have other people that dealt with the same thing,” said James Cordaway.
This month, the Head for the Cure features Naomi Olivares for their December 2024 Ambassador spotlight.
Olivares tells us it means a lot to her because this is P-Nut’s birthday month.