Local Swim Coaches Participate in Swim Across America Fundraiser and Save Each Other's Lives in the Process
Dallas, TX, June 09, 2013 --(PR.com)-- When Shelley Drury, a coach at the Mustang Swim Club in Dallas decided to participate in the Swim Across America – Dallas (SAA) event at the prompting of a fellow coach at the swim club, Karen Miller, she didn’t know that decision would change her life, and save the life of her friend and fellow swim coach.
“I was at a swim meet last fall and after talking with other swimmers about Swim Across America, I was so moved that I committed to swimming a mile in honor of my friends who have cancer,” Drury says. “Little did I know how that decision would affect my life.”
A few months after making that decision, she received a phone call from her doctors telling her she had breast cancer.
After her surgery in January of this year, Drury went back to work. Her colleagues were so moved by her will to fight against cancer they formed Team Mustang and signed up to participate in SAA in her honor. But the coaches weren’t the only people who threw in their support.
“I’m participating in Swim Across America as a thank you to Coach Drury for helping me with all my strokes, but most of all for building my confidence as a swimmer,” said Noah Nemec, a swimmer in the Mustang Swim Club. “I was devastated when I found out she had breast cancer, but every time I saw her in practice she had a smile on her face no matter what happened. She is a great role model for all of us.”
“When I was tired and didn’t want to leave the house, the kids I coached kept me motivated and helped me get through my treatment,” Drury said. “They were my inspiration to keep on fighting.”
In addition to recruiting swimmers and coaches for the event, Drury made it her mission to encourage every woman in her life to get a mammogram. Fellow Mustang coach Beverly Stone, who took over coaching duties during Drury’s treatment, took her advice. Several days later, Stone was also diagnosed with the early stages of breast cancer.
“Without Shelley, who knows when I would have found out about my cancer,” Stone says. “She could have very well saved my life by helping me detect the cancer early.”
Drury, Stone, and Miller, the coach who originally encouraged Drury to participate in SAA, will all participate on Team Mustang at the third annual open water swim event on Saturday, June 8, 2013 at The Harbor at Lake Ray Hubbard in Rockwall, Texas. The event, which in addition to local swimmers features former Olympic swimmers and cancer survivors, will raise money for the Innovative Clinical Trials Center at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas. This is the largest outpatient cancer center in North Texas dedicated to cancer care, research, and education. SAA participants will swim knowing that the money they have raised is staying local, and will make a direct impact in their city.
Swimmers must raise a minimum of $500 in order to participate in the ½-mile, 1-mile or 2-mile course at Lake Ray Hubbard. They may swim individually, or as part of a team, to honor friends and family that have been affected by cancer.
To learn more about how the Swim Across America – Dallas is “making waves to fight cancer,” please visit www.swimacrossamerica.org/Dallas.
“I was at a swim meet last fall and after talking with other swimmers about Swim Across America, I was so moved that I committed to swimming a mile in honor of my friends who have cancer,” Drury says. “Little did I know how that decision would affect my life.”
A few months after making that decision, she received a phone call from her doctors telling her she had breast cancer.
After her surgery in January of this year, Drury went back to work. Her colleagues were so moved by her will to fight against cancer they formed Team Mustang and signed up to participate in SAA in her honor. But the coaches weren’t the only people who threw in their support.
“I’m participating in Swim Across America as a thank you to Coach Drury for helping me with all my strokes, but most of all for building my confidence as a swimmer,” said Noah Nemec, a swimmer in the Mustang Swim Club. “I was devastated when I found out she had breast cancer, but every time I saw her in practice she had a smile on her face no matter what happened. She is a great role model for all of us.”
“When I was tired and didn’t want to leave the house, the kids I coached kept me motivated and helped me get through my treatment,” Drury said. “They were my inspiration to keep on fighting.”
In addition to recruiting swimmers and coaches for the event, Drury made it her mission to encourage every woman in her life to get a mammogram. Fellow Mustang coach Beverly Stone, who took over coaching duties during Drury’s treatment, took her advice. Several days later, Stone was also diagnosed with the early stages of breast cancer.
“Without Shelley, who knows when I would have found out about my cancer,” Stone says. “She could have very well saved my life by helping me detect the cancer early.”
Drury, Stone, and Miller, the coach who originally encouraged Drury to participate in SAA, will all participate on Team Mustang at the third annual open water swim event on Saturday, June 8, 2013 at The Harbor at Lake Ray Hubbard in Rockwall, Texas. The event, which in addition to local swimmers features former Olympic swimmers and cancer survivors, will raise money for the Innovative Clinical Trials Center at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas. This is the largest outpatient cancer center in North Texas dedicated to cancer care, research, and education. SAA participants will swim knowing that the money they have raised is staying local, and will make a direct impact in their city.
Swimmers must raise a minimum of $500 in order to participate in the ½-mile, 1-mile or 2-mile course at Lake Ray Hubbard. They may swim individually, or as part of a team, to honor friends and family that have been affected by cancer.
To learn more about how the Swim Across America – Dallas is “making waves to fight cancer,” please visit www.swimacrossamerica.org/Dallas.
Contact
Swim Across America
Denise Lessard
214-599-8703
www.swimacrossamerica.org
Denise Lessard
214-599-8703
www.swimacrossamerica.org
Contact
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