From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankar Vedantam.

This is My Unsung Hero, stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

My unsung hero is my therapist.

He said, it's okay.

I still love you.

You're still my best friend.

So if she hears this, I just want to say, thank you.

Today's story comes from Nancy Willis.

About 30 years ago, Nancy ran the New York City Marathon.

Her entire family made plans to wait for her near the finish line,

her husband, her in-laws, and her three children.

When Nancy completed the race, she headed to their planned reunion spot.

But after getting hugs from everyone, she had a terrifying realization.

My oldest son, Jack, was not with us.

And we all set out to try and find Jack,

not only just calling his name

and looking for this little eight-year-old boy,

but we also had the New York City Marathon teams

sending out information over the loudspeakers about a missing boy.

Even spectators nearby were calling out Jack's name.

And that type of energy and focus helped me to stay calm.

I had two younger sons who were visibly sad as well as my mother-in-law.

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