West Dundee resident Joe Mullen is a Barrington firefighter who trains on his days off to compete in the annual Chicago Marathon. However, this year Mullen applied to run in the Boston Marathon on behalf of Boston Children's Hospital.
He was accepted and will run his sixth marathon representing a boy named Thomas Road, a 5-year-old seizure patient at BCH.
"It's kind of cool, because I can say I ran the Boston Marathon," Mullen said. "I get to raise money for the hospital, and I get to represent Thomas."
photos by GUS STUERTZE / SPECIAL TO THE COURIER NEWS
Checks can be made payable to Boston Children's Hospital and sent to the Mullens at 71 Edwards Ave., West Dundee, IL 60118, or dropped off at Hampshire Middle School by April 1.
For more information, Joe Mullen can be reached at (224) 629-0677.
When he signed up for the Chicago Marathon in 2003, he found out that Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago had a marathon team that had run the marathon on the hospital's behalf.
"When I'm running, I think about all the good care (his son) Benjamin received at the hospital. ... If (it's) me going out and running, sweating, getting sore feet and raising some money, it's well worth the time sacrifice," Mullen said.
"If that money can help a family who cannot afford the hospital and make someone's pain go away or make a kid healthy or prolong his life until they can find the right answer, I'll run until I can't run anymore."
Ben managed to undo the belt and stand up in the cart. His older brother, Little Joe, pushed him out of the cart and onto the concrete floor.
When the family arrived at Sherman Hospital, Ben's CT scan showed a mass on his front temporal lobe. The hospital referred them to a specialist and sent them home.
Since the incident, Ben has undergone four MRIs, 20 CT scans and has visited more than a half-dozen hospitals. Through it all, the family has comforted Ben as he coped with tremors and seizures.
Doctors finally determined that the mass was an arachnoid cyst on his brain. They instructed the family to keep a journal of Ben's episodes over the next six months. During that time, Ben's condition progressively worsened.
Doctors classified him as an epileptic who couldn't feed or dress himself.
"It was heartbreaking, I couldn't do anything but write it down and that was so frustrating," Kelly said.
That was when Joe began representing Children's Memorial Hospital in the Chicago Marathon in an effort to repay the hospital for its excellent care. "It's an emotional roller coaster. The first time I ran for Children's and for Benjamin, I was running and I would think, 'This is so neat.' When you're done, it's such a great feeling to come across that finish line," Joe said.
"The ride home took forever with Ben in the backseat. I called my parents and just started crying," Joe said. "But he's a trooper, the day after the surgery, he was all bandaged up. The bridge of his nose was huge, and his eyes were swollen shut."
Ben continued to have seizures for the next year and a half after the surgery, and Joe continued to raise money for his cause.
"On my shoes I wrote his name, so when I'm running I'll look down because I'm tired and know he's always with me," Joe said.
It has been more than a year since Ben experienced his last seizure. The family continues to work with him as some of his side effects from the surgery continue to disrupt his life. But, Ben acts like any average 7-year-old boy.
"We were tired one night and worried about Ben's health, and he comes out and says, 'I had brain surgery; get over it,' " Kelly said.
In the past five years, the family has raised more than $27,000 for Children's Memorial. This year, the family hasn't had time to raise funds for the Boston Marathon, and they are seeking the help of community members to contribute to children like Ben.
The family must raise a minimum of $3,500 to be eligible to run in the marathon. The money goes directly to BCH, not to the marathon and will not be used as travel expenses to Boston.
