By Corey Moreno
MURFREESBORO,
Tenn.—5K runners gathered on the morning of Nov. 21 at Blackman High School to
help raise funds for Pulmonary Hypertension, a disease that took a local boy
too soon.
The
5k was hosted by the boy’s mother and father, Sheri Guider and Rich
Guider. Their son, Jonah, passed away on
June 21 of this year. He was going in
for a heart catheterization as part of his treatment, and his heart failed
him. Jonah’s mother organized the event to
raise funds to aid in the research of Pulmonary Hypertension, and she was able
to raise $15,000 through online donations, as well as donations made at the
race.
“Every
one of y’all is awesome. Next year it’s
going to be bigger and better,” said Mr. Guider.
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| Photo made available by RunJonahRun.net |
The
National Director of Development and Fund Raising for the Pulmonary
Hypertension Association was able to make an appearance and say a few
words. His name is Mike Catell, and he
seemed very passionate about being involved in events such as these.
“I
have one of the best jobs in the world, because as the national director of development
and fundraising, I help folks like the Guiders and others put on about 60 events
across the country each year,” said Catell. “The 5k is part of what we call our Community
Grassroots Events program to raise funds and raise awareness to fight this
disease.”
According
to Catell, there aren’t many options for children with Pulmonary
Hypertension.
“There’s
more research on the side for adult PH, not for pediatric PH,” he said. “There are 12 treatments for adults. There aren’t any for pedes."
Despite
the lack of treatment, he seemed hopeful.
“Our
mission is to eliminate Pulmonary Hypertension,” he added.
 |
| Photo made available by RunJonahRun.net |
For
donations, or for information about Jonah Guider, readers can visit the website
https://www.gofundme.com/xmvd55w.
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