MARBLEHEAD — Massachusetts Eye and Ear gave her grandparents vision. In return, a Marblehead runner has given the hospital 104.8 miles and $132,000.
Sally Reiley, 58, is training to run her fifth Boston Marathon in support of research at the hospital. Raising money is her way of keeping the hospital’s innovative work going.
Six decades ago, Reiley’s grandfather, DeWalt Ankeny, suddenly suffered a retinal detachment in both eyes while living in Minnesota.
“My grandfather had kind of a rare thing happen,” said “A retinal detachment in both eyes back in the 60s. In those days, they just let you go blind.”
But Ankeny heard about a young surgeon named Dr. Charles Schepens and flew to Boston for a new procedure that saved his vision.
Years later, his wife Marie suffered from the same ailment. They immediately returned to Boston to see the same doctor. The family remained close to Schepens who later attended Reiley’s wedding.
In an effort to give back and help the hospital continue its work, Reiley, who also serves as a Mass Eye and Ear trustee, began running the marathon in its name.
She felt inspired to lace up her sneakers after the Boston Marathon bombings, and crossed the finish line for the first time in 2014. She had been approached by the hospital to run the event in the past, but while she has always been athletic, running a marathon was never on her bucket list.
“It was after the bombings that I said ‘I’m in, right now,'” she said. “I went in with the attitude that I just wanted to have fun and to finish. But then I realized, ‘I’m kind of enjoying this.’ The energy and support — there was this really amazing, powerful, Boston strong sentiment. It was inspiring.”
In her first year, she was afraid she wouldn’t meet the $10,000 fundraising requirement to participate, but quickly learned how many people had been touched by the hospital’s work and wanted to help fund research. In her first four years, she raised more than $132,000, including more than $30,000 in 2017 alone.
“Mass Eye and Ear made history just last week,” said Reiley. “They performed the first FDA-approved gene therapy on a teenager who had lost his vision because of inherited retinal disease. The money that we have raised together has helped this kind of thing happen. We’re so fortunate to have this place, I’m running for the bold science that’s enabling life-saving cures.”
Mass. Eye and Ear is home to the world’s largest vision and hearing research centers. Each year, nearly 300,000 people come from more than 80 countries to seek care, and more than 20,000 of them undergo life-changing surgery, according to the hospital’s website.
Donations can be made at http://teameyeandear.org/sallyreiley2018
