'My Dad Would Be Really Happy': Running The Boston Marathon To Heal From Father's Sudden Death
BOSTON (CBS) – For many who run the Boston Marathon, the reasons behind their run are very personal. That's true for 21-year-old Eddie Fettuccia; he has never been a runner – until very recently.
"I found out that really helped me deal with the pain and the loss of my dad," Eddie shared.
In 2019, Eddie's father, Patrick, collapsed at his younger brother's hockey game. He unknowingly had a brain aneurysm and it ruptured. He died just three days before Christmas.
"It was really unexpected. We had no idea," said Eddie.
In the months that followed, friends and family rallied around the Fettuccias, helping them cope with their sudden loss. Then, the pandemic hit and social distancing ripped away that support system.
"Right when COVID hit is when the struggle started because it was just me and my mom and my two brothers. We were by ourselves a lot; a lot of thinking."
That's when Eddie started running.
"It's a good way to just forget about everything for an hour or two and just focus on running."
Now, Eddie is using running as a way to honor his dad, by taking part in the Boston Marathon for the first time.
"COVID obviously prevented my family and I from being able to do anything for my dad and I knew running the marathon, especially running the marathon for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, was a way I could celebrate my dad's life," he said.
Eddie has already doubled his fundraising goal, exceeding $20,000. The money will go toward research and awareness of the mysterious and tricky disease that took his dad too soon.
"It is tricky because the medical community does not know when brain aneurysms form, if you have one, will it rupture, and when might it rupture," said Christine Buckley, the executive director of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.
That's why Buckley says research is so critical, but she says the disease is severely underfunded, especially given how common it is.
"There's 1 in 50 people in the U.S. walking around with a brain aneurysm. Thirty thousand people a year rupture and half those people die, so that's a rupture every 18 minutes," said Buckley.
Like so many others, Eddie's dad had no idea he was one of those people until it was too late. That's why the foundation is focused on early detection and raising awareness about the signs and symptoms.
"Neck pain, pain behind the eye, vision changes, could be nausea or vomiting," said Buckley. "If you know someone in your family has had one, that's critical."
Eddie hopes the money he's raising in honor of his father will prevent another family from experiencing the same grief.
"My dad would be really happy for me that I did this for him," said Eddie.
You can watch the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18 on WBZ-TV and streaming on CBSBoston.com (streaming rights only within New England).
