Wheaton man runs for 24 hours to combat blood clots

With every step he takes, Eric O'Connor wants to make a difference.

The Wheaton father of three embarked on a mission Friday to run on a treadmill for 24 hours to raise awareness of the dangers of blood clots. The issue hits close to home for O'Connor, who has an underlying blood clot disorder and realized he had clots shortly after undergoing knee surgery in 2011.

That year, about a week after the surgery, he was standing in his garage, sweating and out of breath. He remembers feeling like he was going to pass out.

He called his wife, went to the emergency room and learned he had numerous blood clots in his legs and lungs.

Although O'Connor survived, many others are not as fortunate. According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, on average, 274 people die every day as a result of blood clots.

"It really affects so many Americans' lives," O'Connor said.

The goal of O'Connor's treadmill challenge, which started Friday and is expected to end at noon Saturday, is to raise awareness and money to fight the health condition.

He was accepting donations through an online site at www.tread24.com, with all proceeds going to the alliance. As of Friday afternoon, he had raised $6,092.

O'Connor said some people also agreed to donate money based on how many miles he conquered during the challenge.

So although the initial goal was to complete 100 miles in 24 hours, O'Connor said he wants to get even more miles under his belt. Although he said he will stop to go the bathroom and walk if he needs to, he wanted to run as much as possible.

"This is also like setting a record for myself," he said.

O'Connor's parents came to Run Today in Glen Ellyn to watch their son as he pushed himself toward his goal.

"Eric was born 10 weeks early," O'Connor's mother, Trisha, said. "He's been in a rush and determined his whole life. He really is a fighter."

Besides benefiting a good cause, O'Connor's run is about bringing hope to others who have had to carry the burden of blood clots.

Before the clots, O'Connor said he ran about 15 marathons. But six months after the incident, he says he could barely walk a mile. It took him a year to get back to running a marathon.

He said he wants others to know a life after blood clots is possible.

"For me," he said, "running this far is to show people that have been through it that you can come back and you can recover."