On Saturday morning, runners lined up on the Colorado State University Oval to participate in a 5K run. Dedicated to Ezekiel Walker, the run aimed to raise awareness of epilepsy and honor the life of a fun-loving friend.
Walker was born with chromosomal abnormalities and experienced several lifelong health complications. He passed away this February due to epilepsy. Molly Johnston, an old friend of Walker and a senior at CSU, organized the event in his memory. Johnston and Walker met during their first year of high school.
Ad
“He and I were on this thing called Sparkles,” Johnston said. “It’s a team for students with and without disabilities. We did cheers and dances — all that fun stuff. I was his peer coach. We got pretty close.”
“I want people to know who he was and his legacy of love and finding the beauty in everything. In the midst of adversity, being able to stay positive and be excited and be a strong person is something that not a lot of people can do but he was able to do.” -Molly Johnston, Ezekiel’s Strength 5K organizer
Johnston reflected on Walker’s outlook on life.
“(He was) the most fun-loving personality ever,” Johnston said. “He was just so youthful. He loved everybody (and) everything. He always had fun with everything, was always so excited about life and everything that we were doing.”
This project was a part of Johnston’s thesis for the Honors program. She said she wanted to do something that honored Walker’s life.
“I want people to know who he was and his legacy of love and finding the beauty in everything,” Johnston said. “In the midst of adversity, being able to stay positive and be excited and be a strong person is something that not a lot of people can do but he was able to do.”
The Ezekiel’s Strength project extends beyond the 5K event. Abby Dahl, a volunteer at the 5K, said raising awareness has been done both in person and online through the Ezekiel’s Strength 5K Memorial Run Instagram.
“Just raising awareness — that’s the biggest thing,” Dahl said. “Molly’s been doing a really good job of doing podcast episodes on the Instagram account.”
Ashlyn Conradson, another 5K volunteer, said word has been spreading online.
“I know (Johnston has) gotten some emails and messages from people who have seen it and reached out,” Conradson said.
Ad
Conradson said individuals reached out and thanked Johnston for creating this project and supporting organizations that benefit patients with epilepsy.
Ivy Souza, another volunteer at the 5K, said the event and its online awareness work created a sense of community around epilepsy that people don’t hear about very often.
Adam Cerny, a participant in the 5K, said he participated in the race because it was a great cause, and he wanted to donate to a good charity.
“If my donation can help spread the word on how important medical care should be for people with epilepsy, then I’ll think of that as a win,” Cerny said. “Everybody should be aware of the Epilepsy Foundation and help out as much as they can.”
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that can affect nearly anyone. Johnston said she aims to bring greater awareness to this topic.
“This event is to raise awareness for epilepsy because one in 26 people live with this condition every single day,” Johnston said. “And not enough people have the correct resources to be able to manage it correctly or the way that they deserve.”
From the event, Johnston said she hoped people learned about what epilepsy is, what to do if they see someone having a seizure and how to keep them alive.
Reach Leah Stephenson at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
