Steve Annear finished dead last in the last October, and heβs downright proud of it.
βEight hours and 47 minutes,β Annear, the managing director of theΜύ
for Parkinsonβs, says. βHad about 5 miles to go when the organizers came out in their car and told anybody still on the course they were shutting the course and we had to get on the sidewalk.β
Annearβs finish was exceptional because he ran the race on one leg and two crutches. He lost his left leg through amputation at age 11 due to circulatory problems when he lived in Australia. This was his first β and he says his only β marathon.
βLuckily, they hadnβt yet taken the finish line apart,β he says.
In finishing the 26.2-mile course, Annear, now 62, raised more than $100,000 from pledges for the foundation. Although Annear doesnβt have the disease, he is the managing director of Gibsonβs foundation and empathetic to those facing health challenges.
βI was really thrilled to get through it,β Annear says of the international race, which starts and ends in DetroitΜύand passes through Canada. βItβs such an incredible event. Going over the Ambassador Bridge and the sun is coming up and all the people around β all passing me at thatΜύpoint β it was just an amazing experience. It was awesome.β
Gibson says Annear, whoΜύis a business consultant, has been a necessary component to the foundation, which recently moved to new offices in Birmingham, hiring more staff and planning bigger things beyond its annual fundraising golf event.
βJust because I hit a baseball doesnβt maybe mean that I know how to run a foundation at the level heβs doing,β Gibson says of Annear. βMaybe, also, you slip a little bit, when you have what I have. You lean on people. Steve is like a blessing.β
Annear says he sees Gibson βas a hero in the way he is handling his fight with Parkinsonβs and the way heΜύis living his life. When things go against you, itβs easy to withdraw. Heβs fighting that battle and helping others fight it. They talk to him and are inspired by him. He is just so generous. I admire the hell out of him.β
Annear says the foundationβs expansion involves two main areas: providing exercise and activity-based programs for patients, and helping their families deal with challenges that come from Parkinsonβs. Doing that, he says, means individual advice.
βParkinsonβs is differentΜύfor every person,β he says. βThereβs no cookie-cutter road map.β Getting Parkinsonβs can be βlike losing a limb. You end up defining a new normal. And you can really maximize your quality of life.β
This story is part of the 2023 Health Guide. Read more in our Digital Edition.
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