ST. JOHNS, Mich. — "He just pushed forward and said 'I'm going to do this no matter what,' and he did, to the very end," said Becky Kay talking about her son Stephen.
Stephen was a runner at heart, always pushing for what was next. He ran cross country and swam as well.
"Steve was a runner," said his brother Zach. "He just did it for so long, with such great passion."
With more determination than most, Stephen did it all while being in and out of hospital.
He was born with an immune deficiency disorder causing problems for his body almost all of the time. Having cancer cells in his stomach led to it getting removed. Then, Stephen and his wife Michelle decided that he would try a bone marrow transplant, which resulted in a unfortunate health decline.
Eventually he became septic and passed away after the bone marrow transplant on Dec. 4, 2021.
But Becky said that even during all of this, she never saw Stephen back away from his challenges.
"I know swim meets, I saw him swim with pneumonia. I saw him run with anemia and other things going on in his G.I. track," said Kay. "We miss him, and it's a definite big void in our life. And we know he would want to give back."
With a scholarship in his name, Stephen and his family are blessing lives of other cross country runners. And to take it further, the family organized a 5K run in his name to take place on May 6, bringing those that knew Stephen and his love for running that much closer together.
The race is named after Stephen's catchphrase, "Risk it for the biscuit," to let others know that you have to live life to the fullest potential and take risks just as he would.
"For me, it speaks to who Stephen was as a person," said Kay. "He just loved people, and invested in people's lives. He was always there to help."
And his legacy lives on by helping runners through a scholarship that makes sure that everyone makes it to the finish line.
You can learn more about the 5K run here.
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