June 2011 a man rolled up to me in a wheelchair and introduced himself to me. "Hi, I am Master Sergeant Christopher Aguilera and I was shot down in Afghanistan in June 2010 and my phyiscal therapists stated this is it for me, and I find it unacceptable." I looked at Chris and said no problem, I can help you and you will reach your goals.
For the next year I worked with Chris. We laughed, we cried, and we a formed a bond like no other. He is now my brother. Together we got his strength back, his ability to move, and he was up and running. June 2012 he was granted his flight status back.
One week later was the second year anniversary of the crash, and the 1st Annual Pedro 66 Memorial Run. We had a blast participating, and Chris ran the longest distance of 6.6 miles.
January 2013 Chris got his wish to go on another deployment. He returned April 2013, and began preparing for the 2nd Annual Pedro 66 Memorial Run to be held on June 8, 2013.
Unfortunately he received notification on May 23rd that the organization that was going to run the event that they were going to cancel the event. When I was notified later that day that the race was cancelled, I found this unacceptable. I then stated we will not let this race fall by the way side, the race will go on.
So, here I am with 10 days to go, and this race will go on. I will make sure it goes off with out a hitch. Though it will be a small event thrown together quickly, there was no way it was not going to happen. I could not sit there and not have Chris run in an event that honors his fallen brothers and every other person who serves are country through our military branches.
So the race will go on! Please join us on June 8th! For more information about the race, please see my event page.
Chris will always be my brother and hold a special place in my heart.
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