COLUMBUS — Nine year-old Brielle Anderson, a Washington Court House resident, is being recognized as a Marathon Mile Champion during the 2023 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon & ½ Marathon taking place on Sunday, Oct. 15.

When Brielle was born on Dec. 17, 2013, her parents, Tyler and Megan Anderson, were overjoyed to welcome their first baby to their expanding family. However, Tyler and Megan would soon find themselves driving to and from Nationwide Children’s Hospital often, as they discovered their little daughter had many health issues. Brielle made many trips to Nationwide Children’s for earaches, aspiration, pneumonia, and much more.

Three years later, in October of 2016, Dr. Emily De Los Reyes, the lead specialist of the Pediatric Neurology Neurodevelopmental Clinic at Nationwide Children’s, was able to identify the root cause. Dr. De Los Reyes diagnosed Brielle with GRIN2A, a rare genetic disorder characterized by the lack of the 16th chromosome.

In the nine years since Brielle’s initial diagnosis, she has made hundreds of visits to Nationwide Children’s, and has received several more diagnoses as a result of GRIN2A. Brielle has been diagnosed with epilepsy, asthma, and a compromised immune system.

Additionally, she has weakened muscle tone, severe intellectual disability, and is non-verbal, but she doesn’t let any of that stop her.

“My girl is a fighter,” said Megan. “She always seems to be smiling in the recovery room.”

One reason for that smile may be because Brielle and her parents consider her care team – including Dr. Jonathan Grischkan of ENT, and Dr. Lisa Ulrich of pulmonary medicine, to be like family.

“They care about her,” Megan shared. “For that, we cannot be more grateful.”

Marathon participants can see Brielle’s big smile for themselves as they pass through her mile where she and her family and friends will be cheering from the sidelines.