For as long as I can remember, my inspiration has been Christopher Reeve. That, in the midst of adversity, he chose to live his life with purpose. One of my favorite quotes of his is, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” My dad, and all others living with ALS, are my very own heroes.
When I reflect back on my childhood, there was a lot of water involved. Lakes and oceans, sure, but mostly swimming pools. And there in the distance, through foggy goggles, was my dad. On the occasion when I couldn’t see him, I could always hear him, usually off in the stands, cheering my name and rooting me on at the top of his lungs. It didn’t matter if he had to drive seven hours to a swim meet to watch me compete for 54 seconds only to turn around and drive seven hours back home… he would always do it. He was always there.
He and I spent a lot of time around the water together, and there was even a time when we actually swam together – he swam Master’s swimming while I swam age group. We would go to practices and meets together, he would always review my swims with me, providing both praise on what went well and constructive criticism on areas of improvement. Dad grew up swimming and swam in college at Shippensburg University (which would just so happen to be the same conference my own university would compete in several decades later when I carried my swimming career into college, too). At the end of my swimming career, I picked up competing at USA Triathlon sanctioned races, both in triathlons and aquabikes. It was a way to continue swimming while also exploring a completely new sport. Even as I ventured out in a new sport, one thing remained true: dad was there as he had always been to cheer me on.
As soon as dad received his diagnosis of ALS, I started looking for ways to fundraise through swimming for a cure, which is how I found A Long Swim. Through A Long Swim, I have the opportunity to compete for my dad while he cheers for me.
My dad’s life has changed dramatically and, in turn, so has mine, but in the same way Christopher Reeve did, we will choose to live our story out with purpose. As such, we will continue to tell this story and continue to reach for a cure and race for ALS research. It is now my turn to be there for him.
