State Sen. Leticia Van De Putte has announced a newly-created 5K run in honor of her grandson, Rex Neal Van De Putte, who died this year from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
The first 5K Walk/Run for Rex this Saturday morning will benefit SIDS research.
Rex was six months old when he died May 7 and Van De Putte said crib death takes the life of a baby in Bexar County every two and a half weeks.
"So it is co-sleeping, it is babies getting entangled in pillows or blankets or bumper pads," Van De Putte said. "Things that you think are doing to make the baby safe actually aren’t. Making sure that the baby sleeps on their back."
Van De Putte said when her grandson died, there seemed to be no reason -- there were no crib pads, he was on his back and there were no blankets to get tangled in. She said more research needs to take place, and that’s what the first 5K Walk/Run for Rex is all about.
"All the proceeds from this little walk/run will benefit Southwest SIDS, which really does lot of the education and information.," she said.
Van De Putte said her son and daughter-in-law are coming through the tragedy by focusing on their other two children and with the support of other family members.
Rex’s Run is this Saturday at Morgan’s Wonderland from 8 a.m.-10 a.m.
- To register go to SwSIDS.org
