1st Annual Michael Litwinka Memorial Run 5K

Sunday, May 20, 2012
Naugatuck, CT

A special THANK YOU to the Participants, Volunteers and Sponsors who helped make this event a success! We look forward to seeing you again next year!

See race results here

Support the American Lung Association as we honor the life of Michael Peter Litwinka IV. Michael was only 13 years old when an asthma attack ended his life.

Read as a mother recalls the life, and tragic death, of her child:

“Our Michael was born on October 4, 1997; he was my first child. On September 21, 2011, he breathed his last breath, collapsed onto the coffee table, and died. My other son, Cameron, witnessed all of the events as they unfolded in disbelief.

My fiancé, Bob, who had only talked to Michael a few moments earlier, ran from the kitchen to the family room. He pulled Michael from the coffee table and repositioned him. Michael’s brown eyes stared, lifelessly, up at the ceiling. A few seconds later, Bob heard my car pull up.

I jetted up the steps, two to three steps at a time, until I came to the family room. There my son lay. I knelt before Michael and tilted his head back. I listened for breathing. I did not hear or sense any breaths. I pinched his nose, gave him two rescue breaths, and began compressions. After a while, a policeman came and continued CPR. Shortly afterwards, the Emergency Medical Team came, continuing the support. As I stood there with my family and watched, it appeared as if their valiant efforts were to no avail; Michael still appeared lifeless in our eyes.

Once we reached the hospital, two female doctors came to tell us they were doing everything they could, but Michael was not responding to the medication. They told me that he would probably die once they stopped all efforts. They also told me that it is not uncommon for boys his age to die from an acute asthma attack that can kill in seconds.

I knew that I had to do something in Michael’s honor. The thought of a road race to increase asthma awareness and asthma research came to my mind. Michael loved running. He ran for the Vernon Track Club when we lived in Vernon, CT. He would have run on the Naugatuck High School Cross Country Team and Naugatuck High School Track Team.

Michael was an 8th grade student at City Hill Middle School, in Naugatuck, CT. He was an outgoing child and immersed his life with kindness, love, and humor. Michael loved to laugh and he loved to make others laugh. As Michael grew older, I was not sure where his path lay; it became very clear at the start of his 8th grade year that he loved culinary arts. He would race home from school each day to search for new recipes on the computer - recipes that he we would cook. Michael loved life, was filled with life and is the essence of life.

Please support our cause, Michael’s cause – please help us to educate others on asthma awareness and to help us fund asthma research. Asthma is becoming more prevalent – the public must be educated that it is a disease that can be deadly.”

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors