Running 300km For Your Son
Jason Egan has been unable to live like a normal boy since he was born. He sits in a wheelchair because he is unable to walk, or even speak. His body is very frail. Doctors say that he has a debilitating brain disease which is eating at his cerebellum, and they do not know what is causing this rare illness. But despite all of these, Jason still manages to put a big smile on his face, especially when he is outside. Read on to learn about how the love and determination of Jamie, Jason's father, is helping Jason.
This is a story about an ordinary man doing an extraordinary thing. Meet Jamie and Jason Egan.
Jason Egan has been unable to live like a normal boy since he was born. He sits in a wheelchair because he is unable to walk,
or even speak. His body is very frail. Doctors say that he has a debilitating brain disease which is eating at his cerebellum, and they do not know what is causing this rare illness. But despite all of these, Jason still manages to put a big smile on his face, especially when he is outside.
Jamie Egan, Jason’s father, takes him for a run by pushing him on his wheelchair. Jamie is not a runner, but the day he took Jason out, he noticed how happy it made him. Since then, Jamie and Jason have been running together almost every day.
At first, Jamie struggled in pushing Jason up and down the hills. But it was nothing compared to what his son had to go through. Jason lights up whenever he’s outside and this has inspired their passion for running. Their little runs soon turned into long runs, and long runs turned into marathons.
They are a father-and-son team. Jamie never runs without Jason. As a father, he said that he could not imagine running without him. They have ran marathons and helped raise funds for charities together.
So far, they have ran two Run for the Kids, two Sri Chinmoy Half Marathons, last year’s Melbourne Marathon, a Geelong Half Marathon, and this year’s Great Ocean Road Marathon, and this year’s Yarra Valley Grape Run.
They have raised over $2,000 from the two Run for the Kids. They have also raised money for the Salvation Army and homeless people when they joined the Radio Sport 927 fun run.
They have helped other people by joining other charity runs, but now they are the ones that need some help. Jamie and Jason are set to run a 300 kilometer journey from Wodonga to Melbourne Federation Square in a week in November. They are hoping to raise $35,000 so that they can have their van modified to be more wheelchair-friendly. Jamie and his family also hope to use the money to run more tests to find some answers for Jason. They hope to finally get a clear diagnosis about what's going on with Jason.
Jamie says that they are preparing for the big event by running 15 to 20 kilometers each day, a big step up from his usual 8km per day. Closer to the big week they'll do more 20-30km runs as well. During the week, Jamie plans to run at around 9 to 10 kilometers per hour and stop at every truck stop. Jamie is absolutely determined that they will finish the journey. He says the only question is how much running they will do and how much walking. Jamie expects that Jason's amazing smile will pull him through the difficult moments.
Jamie is a true hero. This father-son team deserves support. Let us help Jason and Jamie to find a diagnosis for Jason's illness and to make their lives just that little bit easier.
