UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio -- Two months after a rare, flesh-eating bacteria forced doctors to amputate the legs of Upper Arlington High School senior Blake Haxton, friends and supporters are preparing to host a walkathon fund-raiser Saturday at Upper Arlington High School.
Haxton, 18, is no longer battling necrotizing fasciitis. He's recovering from the bacterial infection, and those who know him are hoping to make the healing process easier by offsetting some of the costs for medical equipment.
Cassie Ault is one of the nurses who cared for Haxton during his surgeries at The Ohio State University's Ross Heart Hospital and later came up with the idea for the walkathon fund-raiser.
"I know that it's ironic that because he's lost his legs that we planned a walkathon, but we just thought it was a great community event that would get everybody out there. It didn't matter what we were doing. We just knew we wanted to do something to get everybody together," Ault said.
In just five weeks, organizers have put together an event that would normally take up to a year to plan, aided by a community that has been captivated by Haxton's story.
"Everyone in the community has approached me, 'What can we do, what can we do?' and this is a perfect opportunity to reach out," said Holly Brown, whose son rowed on Haxton's crew team the past three years. "It can happen to anybody. Blake was a strong, fit, athletic rower and not to mention an excellent student. And his life is changed forever. And I would like to see this make a difference. It wouldn't happen to someone else because they're informed."
To kick off the walkathon Saturday, Brown said the men's and women's varsity crew teams will take turns carrying a boat around the track to honor Haxton.
"If anybody can get through this, he can get through this. And he'll make a difference. He's going to help spread awareness. He's going to make something better out of all of this," Ault said.
For more information about the walkathon, visit http://www.blakescrew.org.
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