Hope Lives On
Crystal Wonderling is moving forward — with her feet and with her friends.
The combination of both may help others dealing with situations like hers to move forward as well.
Wonderling lost her only child — a daughter named Hope, a Butler High School senior — to suicide in 2014. An all-star softball player with the Golden Tornado, Hope was due to graduate in less than three weeks and was going to continue her academic and softball career at Butler County Community College.
“I had no idea anything was bothering her,” Wonderling said of her daughter. “I didn't notice any signs ... nothing.”
Crystal Wonderling ran track and field at Slippery Rock High School. She graduated in 1996 and didn't run for three years before picking it up again.
“I wanted to stay in shape,” she said.
Now she has an additional reason to pound the pavement.
“It helps me mentally to get through what I need to get through,” Wonderling said.
She has run a couple of marathons — the Buffalo Marathon in 2018 and the Pittsburgh Marathon last year. She ran the Pittsburgh Marathon in 4 hours, 26.30 minutes, finishing among the top third of the female 40-49 age group.
When she ran the Pittsburgh event, she wore Hope's name on her bib.
And people responded.“I heard people shouting out her name as I ran by,” Wonderling said of the marathon. “That meant a lot. It made me want to do more.”Enter Valorie Andreassi and Dixie Perrine. Like Wonderling, they are nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital. The three are co-workers, close friends and fitness buddies.They get together after working their overnight shift to run around town or meet in the Butler hospital gym to work out.Andreassi and Perrine have never run a full marathon. Andreassi has run three half-marathons while Perrine has run one. They decided to do the May 3 Pittsburgh Marathon with Wonderling.While the marathon has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, Pittsburgh Marathon officials are offering all runners a “virtual option” in which they can run a marathon on their own, record and submit their times.The marathon runs do not have to be on May 3 or on a course in Pittsburgh.“We wanted to support Crystal,” Andreassi said. “This is also a way to bring awareness and donations to the suicide issue. We want to make the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention a marathon charity.”They contacted AFSP to see if the organization was interested. AFSP will become an official marathon charity — meaning it would financially benefit from the Pittsburgh Marathon annually — if the charity as a whole raises $10,000 and has 10 marathon volunteers this year.AFSP is a contributing charity this year through “Team Hope,” which Andreassi, Perrine and Walker are calling themselves.
Renee Neigh, another Butler nurse and friend, has also been a runner with the team.“She's pregnant right now, so she's excused from this,” Andreassi said, smiling. “But she's a part of us.”Andreassi is a 1980 Karns City High School graduate who also ran track and field in high school. Perrine is a 2003 Highlands graduate who did not run in high school.“I got started through a fitness program,” Perrine said of running. “My first 5k was about eight years ago. I've done the Zion Half-Marathon, a challenging run in Utah.“The four of us found each other through conversation at work and sharing a common interest. Now we have a common goal.”Their biggest fan may be Jesse Putkoski, the area director of Western Pennsylvania for AFSP.“I love what they're doing,” Putkoski said. “Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in the country for ages 15 to 34. It is a serious, serious issue.”AFSP is a national organization with chapters in all 50 states.Its mission “is to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide, and the funds are being raised to help continue our work with scientific research for suicide prevention and mental health, educational programming, advocacy and support for those who have lost someone to suicide,” Putkoski said in a prepared statement.AFSP has a goal of reducing the suicide rate by 20 percent by the year 2025.Training for a marathon isn't exactly easy. This trio of women work out together as well as run together — for many miles, at times.“We try to stick together,” Wonderling said of the lengthy runs. “We ran 17 miles together one day. Another time, we did 18 or 20. It's good to have company when you're running for that long.“We encourage each other.”
All three recognized the challenge ahead — though they will now run their own marathon course together.“We know Pittsburgh isn't your typical marathon,” Perrine said.“As if 26 miles isn't long as it is ... With Pittsburgh, there's hills,” Wonderling added.Andreassi said the trio will likely run their marathon on a trail locally.“We haven't picked a date yet,” she said. “But we'll run together, keep our social distancing and turn in our times.“The Pittsburgh Marathon offered to refund money to all entrants. But we're going ahead. This cause is too important.”Team Hope believes they are up to the challenge. They are determined to raise that $10,000 and set up AFSP as a permanent Pittsburgh Marathon charity.“Sure it's a lot of money and we've already been working on it,” Andreassi said. “We've set up a Team Hope team page with links to us as individuals.“There's already been more than $2,000 ($2,507 as of March 15) raised. We never see that money. It goes straight to AFSP. That's how it should be.”All in the name of Hope.“Not a day goes by that I don't think of her,” Wonderling said. “If this endeavor spares one parent, one person, what I've gone through, if it saves one life ... It will all be more than worth it.”Donations in the name of Team Hope may be made at http://afsp.donordrive.com/team/248263.Donations through Team Hope individuals may be made for Andreassi at http://afsp.donordrive.com/participant/2274719. The number for Wonderling is 2283686 and for Perrine 2274720.All donations are 100 percent tax deductible.
