The second annual Casey A. Hohman Memorial Run/Walk was held
last Saturday, Sept. 27, in Tower Grove Park. The event was
organized by the Sigma Kappa sorority and was held to raise
proceeds for the Hohman Foundation, which benefits the Heart
Transplant Association.

Participants entering the five-kilometer run/walk or the one-
three- or five-mile walks paid either a $15 entry fee or collected
a minimum of $15 in donations, with all proceeds going to benefit
heart disease and heart transplant research.

“Turnout was slightly less than last year, but most of the
participants were [Saint Louis University] students, and many
brought their parents to walk with them,” said president of the
Sigma Kappa sorority, Kari Kehm.

Casey Hohman was diagnosed with a heart condition when she was
13 years old. At the age of 16, she was placed on a waiting list
for a heart transplant.

Throughout high school and college, Hohman had to endure lengthy
hospital stays and perpetually poor health.

Hohman was a founding member of SLU’s chapter of the Sigma Kappa
sorority. She was also a member of Alpha Phi Omega, SLU’s co-ed
service fraternity.

Hohman was also awarded the St. Ignatius Loyola Service
Scholarship, an award given to students who are dedicated to
community service. She was dedicated to helping others, and all the
while she kept her illness hidden from others , and everyone who
knew her was familiar with her motto: “When life gives you lemons,
make lemonade.”

“Most of us didn’t even know she was sick,” said Kehm. “She
didn’t want us to know she was sick and treat her differently.”

On Nov. 14, 2001, Hohman received a heart transplant. After a
two-week stay in the hospital, she came home. By early January, she
began to have complications. Her body rejected the donor heart.

On Feb. 15, 2002, Hohman died.

The Hohman Foundation and the Casey A. Hohman Memorial Run/Walk
were both started to commemorate her struggle and her giving
spirit.