A Long Island man is lacing up his sneakers and running the New York City Marathon on a personal mission inspired by his son's health scare.

Patrick Kellachan's son PJ went into cardiac arrest at Chaminade High School last year.  Patrick Kellachan's NYC Marathon Fundraising Page

Kellachan says his son’s life was saved thanks to the coaches and an automated external defibrillator on campus.

Kellachan could not be more grateful that it was there, as private schools and sports leagues in New York state are not required to have them.

Dr. Sean Levchuck feels AEDs are critical to have on campus, especially when sporting events are happening.

“What we really look for is to have the AED on site because many of these kids have problems that were not identified and they don’t know they have these problems,” says Levchuck.

Now inspired by his son, the coaches that saved him and the possibility that another life could be saved -  Kellachan is running the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon in hope of raising money to provide more AEDs on campus at his son's school.

As he prepares to race towards the finish line, he had a message for those who raced to save his son just one year ago – “Thank you, I love you, you saved my kids life.”