Roselle mom training for Chicago Marathon to honor daughter
When it comes down to basics, Jessica Olalde was a lot like most 16-year-olds.
The third of seven children from Roselle, she teetered between the delights of her youth and the vanities of a teenager. While still clinging to her Elmo doll for comfort at night, the Roselle teen found confidence when people told her what a beautiful young lady she had become.
"Princess Jessica," her family called her - especially her mother, Liliana Olalde.
Jessica's ears also could hear a pin drop. That's because she could not see. Nor could she walk, talk or do anything for herself, after suffering a brain injury as an infant in 1991 during a head-on car collision.
Because of her injuries and complications such as seizures that resulted from it, Jessica lived at Marklund, a nonprofit organization that offers services to help infants, children and adults with severe disabilities. Due to the severity of her injuries, doctors didn't expect Jessica to live past her first birthday.
Instead, Princess Jessica's family said goodbye when she died last Feb. 29, just shy of her 17th year.
"Her smile would light up a room and bring a smile to everyone around her," said Liliana Olalde. "There are so many people who she deeply touched and who will miss her dearly."
With six other children ranging in age from 2 to 22, it might have seemed logical for Olalde to seek comfort solely in her family after losing Jessica.
Instead, as a runner who already had completed the 2007 Chicago Marathon, she began training again. This time, though, her work would honor her daughter.
This fall Olalde raised more than $6,000 for Marklund by asking friends and family for sponsorship. Her employer, HSBC, matched donations from colleagues. Loyal Marklund supporter Jim Porter of Porter Pipes, Inc., also gave a substantial amount.
Right now she is forming a team for the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, to continue raising money for Marklund.
"I have a total of seven children and without (Marklund) I would not be able to work or take care of my family," said Olalde, a senior analyst for HSBC's business systems. "So I figure I will do as much as I can to help out the organization that has provided so much for me and my family."
Already, three family friends are joining Olalde's training group: Monty Guevara of Oak Park and brothers Juan and Ricardo Delgado of Roselle and Bartlett, respectively.
Their team also will have the moral support of Jessica's grandparents, nine aunts and uncles and 33 cousins as they train. Once the race ends, Olalde plans to start her efforts all over again.
"When Jessica passed away I decided that I would continue to run in her honor as long as God allows me to," Olalde said. "She was our angel."
Anyone who would like to join Liliana Olalde for the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, should call Vicki Krystof at Marklund at (630) 593-5482. For details on Marklund, visit marklund.org.