PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than 250 people were at the Mann Center to take in the breathtaking views of Philadelphia while walking for a good cause, to benefit families navigating traumatic brain injuries.
The Mann was home to the 7th Annual Walk for Pediatric Brain Injury Survivors, presented by Holton's Heroes, a nonprofit that provides resources and services to families with children who have experienced a traumatic brain injury. The event also featured raffles, a dance performance, balloon art, and more.
Holton's Heroes founder Eric Weingrad named the nonprofit in honor of his son, who suffered a brain injury at the hand of a nanny when he was 11 months old.
"Fortunately he survived. The first year after his injury was really tough," Weingrad shared. "He spent a lot of time in a coma… vomiting, he was blind, he can't walk, and you name it, it was torture, and what really made it worse was that insurance wasn't helping."
Holton is now 9 years old. The seventh edition of the walk was the first he attended since the start of the COVID pandemic. Before the walk, the event also featured raffles, face painting, balloon art, and a dance performance from New Jersey studio ZZ Dance.
"When faced with all the medical bills, with therapies, and the constant worry about your child's future, even the smallest gesture can really make a world of difference," said Elizabeth Wurt to a crowd of more than 250 gathered at the Mann.
Wurt's daughter, Victoria was also in attendance. At three months old, her aorta narrowed unexpectedly and she had a heart attack due to lack of oxygen. It left her with a traumatic brain injury she still lives with today.
"Through heart surgery and rehabilitation, our little girl has shown such resilience that we could've never imagined," she told the crowd. "It is often in our darkest that we see the brightest stars."
For Wurt, those "stars" are not only her husband and the responding EMT team, but also the community of support they've found through Holton's Heroes, which serves families like hers, and showed out more than ever before in Philly.
"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, your generosity goes beyond the tangible. You've given hope, you've given joy, and most importantly, you've given love."
Weingrad said the festive atmosphere was devoted to reinforcing the community, and creating a feeling of belonging for the kids and their families.
"I feel like as kids, we're taught to not stare and not to look and in the end, that ends up being, our kids, like my son Holton, get ignored," said Weingrad. "So these events, we like to stress the importance of engagement and inclusion and that's what this event is."
