The Wheatley Family

In February of 2012, Wayne Wheatley (DCDS Middle School Faculty Member & Current Parent) had to have emergency surgery on an intestinal blockage that turned out to be caused by a swollen lymph node. Further testing revealed the diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Fortunately, due to advanced medical research and experimental trials, he was able to avoid harsh radiation or chemotherapy treatments and instead only needed an infusion of antibodies every 3 months over the next 2 years. To date, there is no sign of any cancer left.

Shortly after entering remission, he decided to get back into running. Already having run a marathon and a few half marathons, he decided to join the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's TEAM in Training, which required him to raise over $1200 for the charity as he trained for the Detroit Free Press marathon. He decided to host a 10K race in the small town of Hale, Michigan (where great-grandmother has a cabin). The first annual "Run Like Hale" happened on July 27th, 2013 thanks to the support of the Hale community and local businesses. Even the Wheatley kids (Jeremiah '25, Samantha '26, Madeleine '27, & Juliette '29) volunteered, passing out water bottles and bananas at the finish line!

In the first year, the race had over 200 runners & walkers and raised over $7000. Last year, the family formed a nonprofit organization called Run Like Hale, Inc. and had 230 participants, raising almost $10,000 for LLS. This year's race happens on July 25, 2015 and the goal is to raise $12,000.
It is all thanks to fundraisers like this that Wayne is still here and still healthy. Without them, these trials and experimental treatments would never have been possible. Without volunteers, races like the Run Like Hale 10K would never have been possible.

Total hours of service
180