Walkathon draws 1,500 in support of recovering rowing team captain

As Upper Arlington High School seniors prepare for graduation this Sunday, they haven't forgotten classmate Blake Haxton.

Haxton, the rowing team captain, is recovering from a flesh-eating bacterium that he contracted in March, resulting in the amputation of his legs.

Nurses who treated Haxton at Ohio State University Medical Center organized the Blake's Crew of Champions Walkathon, which drew 1,500 people to the UAHS stadium on May 30 to raise money and awareness in Haxton's name.

Event organizer Cassie Ault said the purpose of the walkathon, which raised an estimated $65,000, was not only to honor Haxton, but also to educate the public about the rare condition known as necrotizing fasciitis that he is managing to overcome slowly but surely.

"A couple of the nurses were talking one weekend. We came up with the idea of doing something for Blake," said Ault, who organized the event with colleagues Tamra Wenning and Emily Wegman.

"After several hours of talking, we came up with a walkathon and decided that all we needed to do was get the community involved."

Haxton, 18, has been moved from the OSU Medical Center Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital to Dodd Hall for rehabilitation.

"That only means he's moving forward. He's got a lot of the journey ahead of him, but I think he's doing great," Ault said. "He's got to get his strength up after multiple surgeries. I think his spirits were there."

Blake's parents, Steve and Heather Haxton, spoke at the beginning of the walkathon and said their son appreciates the community's support.

"God has been good to us," Steve Haxton said. "If you had told us eight or 10 weeks ago that we'd be looking at hundreds of friends who got up on a Saturday morning because they had nothing else better to do than support us, we'd have been lying on this track crying."

UAHS principal Kip Greenhill said he was moved to see hundreds of students, parents, teachers and community members show up to support the Haxton family.

"It makes you feel so good, the sense of community support in Upper Arlington," Greenhill said.

Rowing-team members from Dublin, Westerville and other areas of central Ohio participated in the walkathon.

"We've gotten a tremendous outpouring of support from around the Midwest and around the country and even around the world from the rowing community," said UAHS rowing coach Chris Swartz. "I think what that speaks to is the measure of the young man that we're honoring here and that we're trying to help. Blake is a fantastic kid. He's a natural leader and he's a tremendous fighter."

Despite the absence of their captain since mid-March, the UAHS rowing team has continued to do well. The Bears had three boats at the Scholastic Rowing Association championship for high school programs on May 22, and the team is expected to send three boats to the youth nationals.

"Our team was able to pull together nicely this year. We've had a lot of success," said Michael Rice, UAHS assistant rowing coach. "We've got one more event and that's the youth nationals, and we hope to have a lot of success there."

The large turnout at the walkathon shows that the community is behind Haxton as he continues his recovery, said Omar Latif, a UAHS senior and teammate of Haxton's.

"It really shows the integrity and strength and close-knit community that we have here in Arlington, and not just Arlington, but Columbus in general," said Latif. "It's really inspiring to see all these people come out for one person."

cbournea@thisweeknews.com

a walkathon in his honor at Upper Arlington High School's athletic stadium on May 30.

(At right) UAHS seniors and crew captains Alex Chan, left, and Omar Latif lead the first lap of the walkathon.

(Below right) Shadows from the Upper Arlington High School crew team holding oars in the air form on the ground near their crew racing shell which has the name of Blake Haxton on its side during the walkathon.