Thanks So Much to Everyone!

The 2008 Hudson River Swim has come and gone and from EVERYONE involved in this event we would all like to express our profound thanks!
So where to start in describing this event??????

Well…… It started with a lot of prayer on the Thursday and Friday prior to the swim. Hurricane Hanna was on her way north and we were (I'm ashamed to say) all praying she would strike her blow on Sunday morning causing the swim to be cancelled. (there was no rain date scheduled!!!)....... Well she came north faster than expected and Sunday turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day.

So...... Sunday morning Norma Jean, Emma, Marjorie and I connected with Ryan and Lucas in their kayaks and ended up having a wonderful swim in PERFECT conditions. Lucky for us swimmers we never even saw John in his powerboat.

The energy in this event is really indescribable. The day begins with a modicum of nervous apprehension in anticipation of the swim. Lots of people wandering around, a story or two from a survivor for inspiration, and then we all board school busses headed for the other side of the river. After some more waiting we finally get the green light.

The first couple minutes are quite a scramble. You’re a little bit disoriented. There are arms and legs and feet everywhere. After a couple of minutes your body gets going, your breathing settles, you become spaced out, and you settle into a groove, watching with each breath the fantastic view from the water.

The first 90 minutes really pass quite quickly. It is when you finally get close to to the end that it seems to take forever. You can see the hundreds of people on shore. You hear the noise of the crowd. Each stroke takes forever.

You swim and swim and swim and you think you are in shallow enough water to walk out and it is too deep so you swim some more. You finally put your foot down and feel the ground below you and take the first step feeling as though you have totally forgotten how to walk. You hear the noise of the crowd but in a strange way you don’t as you are really focused on putting one foot in front of the next.

We all came to shore with a glorious greeting from our friends, family, and supporters. The energy is AWESOME. You feel great for your accomplishment. You are really on top of the world at this point.

As you struggle to find your supporters you scan the crowd looking for a friendly face, and despite your exhaustion, your eyes manage to focus on a 23 year old bald woman laughing, and smiling, and cheering. In that instant you really feel this amazing sense of community and humanity as the two hour swim pales in comparison to what other have gone through in their fight against cancer.

It is truly humbling to be just a small part of this event! With the help of everyone who donated, fund-raised, kayaked, provided support in their powerboat, or swam we all collectively created a community and I’m so so so proud to say that OUR COMMUNITY is making a difference!