Baltimore Marathon: Running for Charity & Garrett King

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- For years, people have used the Baltimore Marathon and all the other races associated with it as a way to raise money.

Kennedy Kreiger is no exception. Not only is the idea to raise money, but to bring hope, Mike Schuh reports.

At age 7, Garrett King loved soccer. Fitting, then, that his soccer photo is one of the last pictures taken before the incident, a mysterious illness that put him in a coma that lasted a month.

When he woke up, he had to begin relearning everything. It took seven months for his speech to return, and now coordination is following. Hopefully, he will be able to continue living a normal life one day.

At Kennedy Kreiger, Chuck and Ann King try to focus not on what their son has lost, but what he's been able to regain.

"We feel like these people are family, just because of the fact that we've been here so much and... they've done so much for us. They brought him back to us," said Chuck King, Garrett's Dad.

"What can be very hard for parents at the beginning is that we don't know how much recovery they're going to have an we don't know how long it's going to take," said Dr. Michelle Melicosta of Kennedy Kreiger Institute.

During that journey, about this time last year, Garrett and Chuck went on their own journey, participating in the Baltimore Running Festival kids race -- Chuck pushing and Garrett riding.

This year, Garrett can walk a bit, but his balance isn't 100 percent. He does better with a walker.

When he found out about the marathon, he announced that his goal is to walk across the finish line at the kids run next weekend.

He's now 9 years old, and he understands that the more he improves, the more it inspires others like him.

Kennedy Kreiger is still accepting what they are calling "virtual racers" onto their marathon team. You give them a donation, and you don't have to get off the couch while the real race is underway.

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