Local runner uses his miles to make miracles for children’s hospital

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When Paul Wilson’s son Luke was first born, he knew something wasn’t quite right. That’s when doctors told him Luke would need to go into a corrective spinal surgery within a few days of his birth.

“During a time like this, it is traumatic and scary. There’s so many questions,” Wilson said.

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Wilson is a realtor living in Nocatee, a longtime local of the First Coast who’s a runner in his spare time. While his son Luke, not even a week old, was in and out of surgery, Wilson turned the halls of Wolfson Children’s Hospital into his own track. It was a way to cope, with his mind moving faster than his feet.

“I spent most of my waking hours in the hospital, strolling up and down the hall,” said Wilson.

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A week after his spinal surgery, Luke had to go through another surgery for hydrocephalus, a condition when there’s too much fluid in the brain. He spent the first month of his life between procedures, with Wilson not sure whether or not he’d live.

“I didn’t know if he was going to walk or what the future held for us,” Wilson said.

But after weeks of surgeries, Luke pulled through with the doctors at Wolfson’s having saved his life. Paul said he felt like he owed them a great debt.

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Being a runner more than half his life, he decided that year to take the hospital’s age and run that many miles to raise money.

“I thought, ‘Well, I think the hospital’s turning 30,’ and I shared with the foundation what I wanted to do,” Wilson explained, “Then I was told, ‘The hospital’s turning 55, not 30.’ And I thought, ‘Oh no.’”

At the time, Wilson was used to running about 50 miles each week. He’d often find races more than double a marathon in length, having more of a desire for distance than a need for speed.

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But, with the run he wanted to do for the kids at Wolfson’s, Wilson would go from 50 miles in a week to 55 in one day. It was far more than he thought he could pull off but seeing his son survive was more than enough motivation.

“It’s painful to run 55 miles, but the pain I endured wasn’t close to what some of these kids have to go through from the time they’re very young,” Wilson explained.

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Wilson raised around $400,000 in that first run with it all going back to the hospital to help sick kids. That was 15 years ago, but Wilson saw the miracle his miles made and wanted to keep running. He started a city-wide race called the Wolfson Children’s Challenge aiming to help a child for every mile ran.

For Wilson, it was a way to make sure no parent knew his pain.

“The love you have for your child is overwhelming. So, it’s knowing they can’t fight, but we can fight for them,” Wilson said.

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It’s a mission giving his miles a new meaning, from nearly losing his son, to saving lives with every run.

“I know the feeling I went through and the uncertainty still to this day,” Wilson said. “That definitely is what motivates me every day to keep pushing forward.”

Wolfson Children’s Hospital says it hopes to raise at least $125,000 at next year’s event. If you want to sign up for the run, you can do so at the link here.

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