As the runners armed with umbrellas and iPods took the starting line for the challenge of running 3.1 miles around Brookland-Cayce High School, the real challenge started eight months ago.
In January, South Carolina library specialist Chad Shelton was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disease in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, and he was hospitalized for six months..
After battling his disease for eight months, there came a reprieve Saturday, Aug. 9 when his friends held the Walk Chad Walk 5K.
The race was organized with the help of Brandy Aull, whose daughter is on the cheerleading team with Shelton’s daughter.
“He has the disease and their medical bills were piling up,” Aull said. “He was in the hospital for six months and I felt that if we could do something little for them, she could use it. He wasn’t working so they didn’t have income and we thought that any little thing could help them.”
Members of the West Columbia community along with former Brookland-Cayce baseball players and the cheerleading team at the high school showed up to support the Sheltons and raise money for the family.
“West Columbia is a very close-knit community,” Aull said. “People know each other. It’s big in the community and they have a lot of friends that have come out to support Chad.”
Shelton’s wife, Kit Shelton, said that if her husband had been able to attend, he would have been humbled at the outpouring of community support, including that of his coworkers at South Carolina.
“Where he works, they’re great. His office at USC [was] awesome; they send cards almost weekly,” Shelton said. “There was just great support.”
After seven weeks of planning, the race started in the rain and with cheers from the race organizers and volunteers, the runners went off on the 3.1 mile route.
Aull said that she is inspired by seeing how the Sheltons have handled their situation, saying that that motivated her to put on the 5K.
“Seeing how gracious Kit and Chad have been through all of this, I don’t want anything from it except from seeing them happy and help them out as much as I can,” Aull said.
Shelton said that her husband should be up and walking soon; however, they will need more therapy and extra handicapable equipment around the house, which is an extra cost.
The generosity from the committee members, Shelton said, humbled her.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Shelton said. “It’s amazing what they have done. It’s just warmed my heart. I can’t even express how wonderful it is.”
Aull and Shelton both said that they were shocked at how successfully Walk Chad Walk brought the community together to support a family in need and raise awareness for Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
“It brings the community together to work together towards one mean, one family, one person,” Aull said. “Hopefully we can do it in the future for the people that need it.”