Where Are They Now?

It is not an accident that the ACE Hardware West Jefferson Retail Service Center is the number one fundraiser in the region that benefits Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

ACE Associate Tamra Chapman is a champion with personal motivation that she uses to ignite her fellow associates.

Tamra is proud mom to Billy, who was diagnosed with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease at age 11 in 2013. Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease is a rare childhood hip disorder where blood flow inexplicably stops flowing to the head of the femur causing the bone cells to die.

Between 2013 and 2015, Billy endured several surgeries while spending months in a wheelchair.

Then, in 2020, Billy required two more surgeries to repair damage to his hip, including a cadaver bone transplant. That May, Billy graduated from Hilliard Bradley High School and met his goal: with only the assistance of one crutch, he was able to walk across the stage to receive his diploma.

Throughout, Billy never lost his beaming smile and positive attitude.

In 2015, he represented the orthopedics department at mile 15 as a Patient Champion for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon and 1/2 Marathon.

Billy returns each year to the Encore Mile in what has become a very special weekend for his mom, Tamra, and the entire family.

2021 was another eventful year for Billy as his sixth surgery was completed in March. Then, in October, he was as excited (perhaps even more than he had been for his own!) to support his girlfriend, Jenna, when she was a Mile Champion at Mile 2. Together, they proudly represent as Patient Champions, forever grateful to the doctors, nurses, and staff at Nationwide Children’s.