When she attends the Great Columbus Duck Race & Run in Gahanna, Chrissy Spayde will see the thousands of yellow ducks in Big Walnut Creek not as toys but as little rubber warriors.
Each one, after all, will have been bought by a sponsor, with proceeds benefiting the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
And research could ultimately improve the life of her 7-year-old son, Doug — who was born with a congenital heart defect.
“He had his first open-heart surgery when he was 6 days old,” Spayde said. “He has had three open-heart surgeries overall, and the Children’s Heart Center really saved his life.”
As a result, she responded to a call from hospital officials for six youngsters to serve as “patient champions” on Saturday for the fifth annual event.
Doug is thriving with an artificial heart valve, said Spayde, who lives in Westerville with her husband, Darren, and their three children.
As he grows, however, the valve will have to be replaced — and the money raised for research might help.
“Most definitely, especially research into growing valves out of (human) tissue,” she said.
“Tissue valves would last longer and be better-tolerated by the body.”
The first two duck races unfolded Downtown, but the event had to relocate in 2014 because of work on the Scioto Mile.
The latest effort will include 5- and 10-kilometer runs as well as a Duck Dash for youngsters. Bounce houses, live music and face painting are also planned.
Chris Bradley, a meteorologist with WBNS-TV (Channel 10), will serve as the host.
The focus, though, will remain on the ducks — thousands of them.
They are offered for “sale” online or at the race. The costs range from $5 for a lone duck to $500 for a “brood” of 130.
The numbered ducks will be launched Saturday into the creek.
“We use a mulch-slinger truck that backs up to the water as close as it can get,” event chairman David Morgan said.
Barriers placed in the creek will funnel the ducks toward the finish line, where the first three will be plucked out and declared winners. Their “owners” will win hefty prizes, such as a one-year lease of a BMW convertible for first place.
Last year, Morgan said, 9,200 ducks raced downstream.
In four years, the event has raised more than $95,000 — money that might one day help spare other children from what Doug has endured.
“He has spent more than 100 days of his life in the hospital,” his mother said. “But right now, he’s doing remarkably well.”
[Source: The Colombus Despacth]
