Hannah Meyer-A Long Swim-NW2NW

Hi! I'm Hannah, a 35-year-old marathon swimmer, originally from the Western Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. I've been a swimmer my whole life.

I swam D1 in college at Seton Hall University on a full athletic scholarship where I tore both of my shoulders and underwent bilateral reconstruction. After college, I took a short break from the sport. After a car accident involving a drunk driver injured my cervical and lumbar spine in 2015, I used swimming as rehabilitation. I have artificial discs in my neck where mine was damaged. I also qualified for a lumbar spine surgery that I declined as the chances of recovery versus the chances of full paralyzation were not ideal. I live and train in pain every day. I lose feeling in my arms and legs frequently, but that doesn't stop me from swimming. I feel the most normal in the water as I am quite clumsy on land.

I met Doug McConnell in 2017 and was inspired by his marathon swimming to raise money for ALS research and started down my own journey. Similar to ALS patients (although very far from them) I lose feeling in my limbs regularly, however I am still able to walk and, most importantly, I am still able to swim. I pledge to swim for those who can't and help raise money and awareness to find the cure. I've completed over 12 marathon and ultra marathon swims, competed in the Amsterdam City Swim (which raises millions of euros annually for ALS research in the Netherlands), I swam the length of Lake Tahoe (21.3 miles) in 2019 and planned to attempt a Monterey Bay crossing in 2020 before an ACL injury derailed the swim a week before our "go" date. I also swim marathon distances off the record with my training partners consistently. I have been a sponsored athlete with A Long Swim since 2019 and I look forward to my ALS marathons annually. I believe deeply in the cause and strive to continue to raise money and awareness for the Ozdinler Lab at Northwestern University Medical Center.