Freezin’ for a Reason
Sixth annual race set for Feb. 2 in Conway
Chelitha Bryant of Conway is thankful that she doesn’t have a child who has needed Arkansas Children’s Hospital, but she knows others do, and that’s why she is a member of the Faulkner County Circle of Friends chapter.
“I’m a big advocate for health care and anything dealing with children,” she said. “I don’t have a personal story, just my love for health care and my love for children.”
Bryant, public relations chairwoman for the Faulkner County Circle of Friends chapter, is getting the word out about the sixth annual Freezin’ for a Reason 10K and 5K and Lap for Life, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Feb. 2 at the John McConnell Stadium at Conway High School. Registration is underway at www.freezin4a reason.org.
Race directors are Randi and J.D. Booker of Conway.
“It’s for adults, children, all ages,” Bryant said.
The Lap for Life will start after the 10K and 5K races, at approximately 10:45 a.m. Bryant said there will be free food and kids activities.
The goal is $60,000; last year, $54,000 was raised. All the proceeds will go to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The race has attracted more than 800 participants in the past.
The race was initiated by the chapter as a way to honor the memories of Charlotte and Stella Mulhearn, daughters of Amanda and Travis Mulhearn of Conway. The girls, who died five years apart of unrelated causes, received treatment at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Charlotte died at 6 weeks old in 2007 of a rare viral infection in her heart. Stella, who had just turned 3, died in 2012 of a brain tumor.
Bryant said she originally got involved in the Faulkner County Chapter of Circle of Friends because a friend, Marie Smallwood, was the chapter’s president. Smallwood’s 14-month-old daughter, Erin Maki, spent a month in Arkansas Children’s Hospital before she died March 15, 2010.
Erin was diagnosed at 8 months old with Krabbe (KRAH-buh) disease, a rare and inherited disorder that destroys the protective coating of nerve cells in the brain, as well as in the nervous system. Smallwood said the disorder
was discovered when Erin’s Conway pediatrician suggested an MRI to try to find out why Erin wasn’t meeting some of her developmental milestones.
Smallwood was also treated at the hospital as a teenager for a tumor on her pituitary gland.
Although Erin’s story doesn’t have a happy ending, Smallwood said in an earlier interview that Erin got excellent care at the hospital.
Bryant said her friend’s story impacted her, too, and made her want to help.
“[Arkansas Children’s Hospital is] actually making a difference in these children’s lives,” she said.
Karil Greeson of Conway knows that firsthand as well.
Greeson credits Arkansas Chi ldren’s Hospital with saving the life of one of her identical twin daughters, who were born in 2013. They had an “extremely rare form” of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, and Isabella had to be hospitalized. Greeson said in an earlier interview that she believes it if weren’t for Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Isabella would have died.
The twins, now 5 years old, are doing great, she said.
“We’ve been very blessed and very lucky,” Greeson said.
Sponsors are being accepted for the event, too, and there are multiple levels for businesses. To become a sponsor, contact Greeson at freezin4areason@yahoo.com or (501) 450-0512.
Circle of Friends members work to promote children’s health through education, advocacy and fundraising for the state’s only pediatric medical facility. The Faulkner County chapter is one of 13 chapters in Arkansas.