|
Tuesday, 20 May 2008 |
By MARY BARGDILL
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — A 24-hour walk that began as a campaign to raise money to fight cancer ended prematurely with a knee injury. However, participants in the walk say they plan to finish the task they started.
On May 10, St. Marys residents Alex Rompilla and Brad Goodwin began what they hoped would be a nonstop 24-hour walk from Memorial Park in St. Marys to Independence Dam in Defiance in an effort to raise money for Relay For Life.
However, approximately 5 miles north of Fort Jennings, near the intersection of Ohio 634 and Ohio 224, Rompilla had to call it quits when his knee, sore after miles of walking, finally locked up.
“At 1:30 a.m. I called my wife and my mother and said the words I didn’t want to say, “Come get us,” Rompilla said in an e-mail to The Evening Leader.
Rompilla and Goodwin walked the towpath of the Miami and Erie Canal from St. Marys to Spencerville and on to Delphos. By nightfall, they switched over to asphalt and continued the walk along Ohio 66.
It was between Spencerville and Delphos when Rompilla said his knee began to bother him. He took some over-the-counter pain killers and continued on to Fort Jennings, but the pain persisted. A few miles out of town, the pain was too much and Rompilla said he decided to call his wife Kimberli.
“We had an unforeseen delay, but better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your health,” Goodwin said.
So far, the duo have walked approximately 44 miles within a 14 hour period and anticipate traveling 36 miles to complete their goal. The remainder of the journey will take approximately 10 hours.
Sunday morning they will continue the walk from Fort Jennings to Defiance.
“Right now the initial diagnosis is a sprained muscle,” Rompilla said. “I am looking forward to the walk and as a result I am cutting out all of my weekly activities just to relax and let the muscle heal.”
Rompilla said he became involved with the 24-hour walk as a way to raise funds and awareness for Relay For Life.
“Because we just believe in dedication and we want to finish what we started,” Rompilla said of finishing the trek. “A lot of people are looking forward to us completing the walk, plus it’s self-fulfillment knowing we completed what we started.”
This is the third year Rompilla and Goodwin ventured on the 24-hour walk to generate funds for Relay for Life.
“Right now we have $300 in hand and we have approximately $500 still outstanding in pledges,” Rompilla said.
Goodwin and Rompilla have been touched by cancer. Goodwin lost a sister, father and mother-in-law to the disease.
His father-in-law continues to battle cancer. His wife has been diagnosed with skin cancer twice.
“Cancer is prevalent in my family’s life and it’s (Relay For Life) a good cause,” Goodwin said.
Rompilla’s mother is currently in remission after having been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Doctors discovered a cancerous polyp in Rompilla’s wife during a colonoscopy. He credits early detection to saving her life.
“Currently 1,500 people in the United States die each day from cancer and with technology and the money we raise it’s going to reduce that number,” Rompilla said. “Last year 290 citizens of Auglaize County were actually treated with monies from the Relay For Life.”
The Relay For Life of Southwestern Ohio will be held June 13 and 14 at Cardinal Stadium in New Bremen.
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 May 2008 )
|
