Support Team Danny Did in the 2018 Chicago Marathon!

As a long time Wildwood resident, I feel very blessed to have grown up in the community that I did. The small Northwest Chicago neighborhood provided myself and many others everything we could ever want in a community. For 21 years I called this neighborhood home and it will always have a special place in my heart.

With all the beautiful memories that came with the neighborhood, there were also a few tragedies that will forever stick with me. Whenever another child in the community loses his or her life, the whole community is affected. For those of you who aren't familiar, the DannyDid Foundation represents the memory of Danny Stanton, a 4 year old Wildwood boy who lost his life from SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy). Danny's death in 2010 shook the Wildwood community.

The Danny Did Foundation works toward its mission to prevent deaths caused by seizures with these main goals in mind: advancing public awareness of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), enhancing the SUDEP communication model between medical professionals and families afflicted by seizures, and the mainstreaming of seizure detection and prediction devices that may assist in preventing seizure-related deaths.

So why a marathon? Quite frankly, I've been asking myself the same question. Although I do have a background as an athlete, conditioning and endurance were always my weaknesses. After my playing days, I took some time to be lazy in terms of fitness. But this past New Years as I was setting goals, I realized it was time to get back in to shape. So I went big and committed to the Chicago marathon on October 7th.

I hopped on a treadmill on January 3rd for what I thought would be an easy 1 mile run. After 9+ minutes I was gassed, and pretty embarrassed. Then I decided to check out the marathon map and realized I'll be running from Grant Park, up to Wrigley, back down and west to the United Center, back towards the the loop, down to Sox park and finally back up to Grant Park. I started to realized how far 26.2 miles really is! Needless to say, this will be one of the biggest challenges of my life.

But then I put things in perspective. I'm young, healthy, and able. Able to run, train, and raise money for an unbelievable foundation. Why wouldn't I? I run for Danny and the many other children who were not able. I set my fundraising goal for $4,109 to also honor the memory of another lost life in the Wildwood community, Henry Schueler, and his family's 41&9 Foundation. Danny and Henry's legacy, and so many other kids who are still fighting for their lives daily is all the motivation I need.

The name of the foundation originates from the last line of Danny's obituary, written by his dad: "Please go and enjoy your life. Danny did."

I take on this challenge with a smile and feel blessed that I've been given a platform to make a difference while doing it.

On behalf of the DannyDid Foundation, thank you for all of your generous donations that will continue to save the lives of children with epilepsy.

-Cody

Danny Stanton