Dad Cradles Sleeping Newborn Son With Down Syndrome As They Cross The Marathon Finish Line

Oct 28, 2019 by apost team

In November, a photo was captured of a man finishing the New York City Marathon with his newborn in his arms. The man’s name is Robby Ketchell. He is a runner, a father, and a scientist.

Earlier in the year, Robby and his wife, Marya, had their son Wyatt, who was born with Down syndrome. Robby ran in the marathon to raise funds for families like his who had children born with Down syndrome. 

He was born premature and spent months in the hospital in the NICU. Wyatt was still weak when he was discharged. He was on feeding tubes according to posts from the couple's Instagram account. 

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Robby came up with the idea to race in the marathon and finish in 3 hours and 21 minutes for representation towards the three copies of the 21st chromosome Wyatt has. He had a goal of raising $3,210 but he was able to raise $11,00 according to NBC New York. 

In order to meet his time goal, he trained for the marathon. However, by the time the race rolled around, he realized it would still be difficult to do, if not impossible. He knew he was going to have trouble by the time he hit mile 17. At mile 20, he got on his knees, feeling like his legs were going to break. He started walking at that point, but he wanted to give it all he had.

He had planned on carrying his son, Wyatt, over the finish line. However, he realized he had to choose between carrying his son or making his time. In the end, he carried his son across. "I had pushed my limits, which was the point. I couldn’t go any farther. And we got to share the moment of going across the finish line together," he told Runner's World.  

In the end, the crowd was all yelling Wyatt’s name. Although he didn’t hit his goal, Robby was beyond grateful for all the support he received for Wyatt. The love and support he has gotten in connection to Robby and his wife is amazing.

Robby wants people to know that you shouldn’t set limits on yourself. Push past them and go beyond your limit. Have you ever run a marathon for a good cause? Tell us below. Send this to your friends and family.