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Team Hydro is proud to announce it will sponsor one or more 2015 Innovator Awards through the Hydrocephalus Association Network for Discovery Science  (H.A.N.D.S).

Team Hydro’s Third Annual Boston Harbor swim takes place on September 19th.  Come meet, greet, celebrate, and support the cause from around 7-11am at the finish line by the John Joseph Moakly US Courthouse!  We’d love to see you with us in the Hah-bah (as the locals say)!  Some swim spots still available, so let us know if you’d like to take the plunge: info@teamhydro.org

In addition to the Hah-Bah plunge, Team Hydro swims from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco annually, and participates in other open water swims as well (including Washington DC, and Boston), to raise funds and awareness for Hydrocephalus Research. We work in conjunction with the non-profit Hydrocephalus Association, (a 401(3)c organization and are proud to report that every penny we receive from donations goes 100% to research!

Inspired by the courage and grace of their sister Kate as she battled hydrocephalus, and frustrated by the outdated treatments and lack of awareness and research, brothers Peter and Sam Finlayson decided to turn their concern and feelings of helplessness into action. With the help of friends they formed Team Hydro in 2008 and began swimming in the Sharkfest Escape from Alcatraz Open Water Swim to raise money for Research. The Team worked and grew for several years, and just months before Kate’s death, Team Hydro raised enough funds to sponsor the first ever, Team Hydro/Kate Finlayson Research Grant.

Today, Team Hydro continues the fight against Hydrocephalus in Kate’s honor (and honestly, in honor of ALL who suffer from hydrocephalus), and humbly accepts contributions toward future research grants in her name. The Finlayson Family continues to underwrite all TeamHydro expenses, so that every penny donated to Team Hydro goes directly and completely to Research!!

Why are Team Hydro Swimmers willing to jump into the water to promote Hydrocephalus Research?!

Because…

…Hydrocephalus affects over 1 million Americans and there is no Cure!

…People “survive” cancer, stroke, and traumatic brain injury, only to later DIE from resultant hydrocephalus.

…60% of children diagnosed with hydrocephalus will never live independently!

…1 in 3 shunts (the most common form of treatment) will fail within a year of implantation, requiring more brain surgery to repair/replace the device!

…Up to 20% of Older adults experiencing dementia and thought to have Alzheimer’s, may actually have a TREATABLE form of Hydrocephalus, misdiagnosed due to lack of awareness!

….Shunt implantations for hydrocephalus are the most common cause of brain surgery in children!

These facts, and more like them, are why we swim!!!
Hydrocephalus remains an incurable and under-researched condition!!
Help us make a difference!
Donate TODAY!
http://tinyurl.com/TeamHydroDonate2015

Thank you for helping improve the lives of millions currently living with hydrocephalus as we endeavor to fulfill Kate’s dream that one day, no more people will need to suffer and lose their lives to the difficult, life-threatening, and currently incurable condition!!

Team Hydro–Taking a bite out of Hydrocephalus—One Stroke at a Time!

To Join Us as a Swimmer–check out the pages describing our Swims and sign up! Feel free to email us: info@teamhydro.org

2015 has officially marked another successful and exciting Alcatraz Crossing by Team Hydro (see photos here)!

The event was a reminder of what we can accomplish together, and a great start to our 2015 fundraising efforts — though we still have a ways to go to reach our goal for the year!

We had a number of medalists on the award podium, including Olympic Gold Medalist Jessica Steffens, hero Greg Osborn, and fan favorite Cap Damrell. Cap’s sister, Kate, also swam, and, as a person living with shunted hydrocephalus, she demonstrated the resilience and drive of the patients we swim to honor! Team Hydro was also excited to welcome Sonia Podvin, medical researcher and former recipient of the Team Hydro research grant!

Our Team included so many wonderful and dedicated swimmers, many of whom traveled long distances from all over the country — coming in from as far as Mexico, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Florida, and Utah to take the plunge! But regardless of distance traveled, the truth is that we at Team Hydro remain grateful for EVERY SINGLE ONE of our swimmers!! We could not do what we do without any one of you, and we hope you feel our appreciation for each swimmer who dons a team hydro cap, or on-land supporter who helps our cause in any way!

We’d also like to give a special shout out to first time Team Hydro swimmer Matt Menesini, who demonstrated incredible courage and poise under extreme pressure when he put his own swim and life on the line to assist others in an emergency in the open water. We are so proud of you, Matt.

To all who participated — THANK YOU SO MUCH!

2015 was also a reminder of how unpredictable the life of people living with hydrocephalus can be. Team Hydro’s 2014 top finisher, Kyle Voulgaris, was hospitalized on Thursday night due to a brain infection — prognosis is good, but he is undergoing further tests to ensure he is able to receive the best and appropriate treatments. Hopefully he’ll be back with us in 2016! This is the third straight year a Team Hydro swimmer with hydrocephalus was unable to compete due to last minute health challenges. Kyle was in our hearts as we took the plunge yesterday, and continues to be in our thoughts and prayers.

Finally, we are anticipating some exciting research news soon regarding the specific use of your hard-earned donations–so stay tuned! Thank you again for your love and support, and we hope to have you with us again in the future!

Also, don’t miss the sign-up for this year’s Boston Harbor Swim! Sign up here!

Greetings Hydrosharks!!

One Million Lives

YOU can swim on behalf of someone too!

And a Perk for our swimmer-heroes! 🙂

Any swimmer who sets up a fundraising page and raises two donations (of any size) will receive a free Team Hydro T-shirt on race day.  Additionally, all swimmers will have access to our snacks at the start and finish.

As always, the link to set up your fundraising page is here

Thanks, and go Team Hydro!

Team Hydro is all set to make its eighth swim across the San Francisco Bay on 8/8!

Check out this new video created by Team Hydro supporter Liam Woodward, a 12-year-old from Castro Valley, CA.  And be sure to share this page with your friends and encourage them to donate here!

Thanks, Liam.  Go Team Hydro!!!!

We couldn’t be more thrilled at yet another successful swim by the Little Falls Penguins!

Ethan Taswell, former swimmer and current coach at Little Falls wrote on the experience as follows:

Swimming with patients’ wristbands and in matching purple Team Hydro caps, the Little Falls Swim and Dive Team came together as one to raise spirits, awareness and funds to combat Hydrocephalus. A whiteboard reading “1 mile=64 lengths. How far will you swim?”  stood perched at the end of the lanes, and the team took this challenge to heart, diving in and swimming across the pool with purpose. Despite the threat of thunder in the afternoon, we were honored to see record turnout in our fourth year of this tradition. The unofficial numbers are in, with 104 Penguins swimming for a total of 9253 lengths (the equivalent of 231,325 meters), or over 144 miles.

We were thrilled this year to witness pre-teamers as young as four-years-old join the fight against Hydrocephalus.  With great determination these youngsters used their kickboards to complete many more laps than surely they have ever done before.  Tremendous maturity from kids of all ages was also displayed throughout the course of this year’s fundraiser, starting with a pep rally conversation about Little Falls’ own Kate Finlayson, and carrying through to card decoration for those in the hospital and the reading of real-life personal stories.  In addition, special recognition goes out to 11-year-olds Eli Glickman and James Marder, who each swam over 500 lengths to benefit the cause.

Our hope is that in the coming days and weeks, the donations will continue to roll in, so that we not only reach our goal of $7,000, but surpass it.

 

Thank you Ethan and all the Little Falls Penguins!

You can support them in their goal of raising $7,000 for Hydrocephalus research by clicking here!!!

Read more about the Penguins and their generous new tradition here.

Go Little Falls and Go Team Hydro!

For the fourth consecutive year, the mighty Little Falls Penguins have lead an incredibly successful swim fundraiser for Hydrocephalus research and awareness.

Working in memory of their fallen teammate and in honor of Hydrocephalus patients worldwide, 96 swimmers swam 125 miles in the swim.  Each swimmer wore on his or her wrist a hospital band with the name of a former patient who battled with the condition.  The generous swimmers also wrote dozens of cards to share with patients currently battling Hydrocephalus in the hospital.

Support them in their goal of raising $7,000 for Hydrocephalus research by clicking here!!!

Read more about the Penguins and their generous new tradition here.

Today, the wonderful Little Falls Penguins — a swim club in Maryland and former home to Team Hydro inspiration Kate Finlayson — is rallying together and engaging in a Swim Fundraiser for Hydrocephalus!  This is in follow-up to a successful fundraiser last week at Chipotle, in which the team raised nearly $1000 — well on their way to their goal of raising $7,000 for Hydrocephalus this year.

Let’s all give a cheer and support for this wonderful team.

Thank you, Little Falls!  And good luck with your swim today and with the rest of your season!

We hope you had a wonderful 4th of July, full of fireworks and fun!   The freedom we celebrate certainly is a precious thing!  How lucky we are to be able to come and go as we please and take part whatever activities suit us.

But freedom is not quite as complete for a person with hydrocephalus. For at any given moment, the brain shunt they rely on for life could fail, sending them to the hospital for an emergency brain surgery!  Imagine living a life where one’s activities and plans are always confined by the possibility of life threatening medical emergency!?!

As a case in point,  just last year one of your fellow team hydro swimmers, Ryan Purdy, who also happens to live with shunt dependent hydrocephalus, was all set and ready to swim with us at Sharkfest. But the day before the swim, Ryan suddenly began getting intractable headaches. A trip to his neurosurgeon confirmed that the shunt his life depended upon, had indeed failed once again!  So while the rest of us were boarding the ferries for our escape from the rock, Ryan was entering the operating room to undergo brain surgery in an attempt to save his life! Such is the uncertain life of a person with hydrocephalus.  But the uncertainty can end, IF we find a cure!!!

Let’s do what we can to help Ryan, and others like him, by sponsoring research for this difficult condition!!

Won’t you ask a couple friends today to support you in your effort to raise funds and awareness for hydrocephalus research?

If you haven’t set up your fundraising page, you can do it here: it’s easy as american apple pie, and as impactful as a grand fireworks display!!

Happy birthday America! We salute you! We also salute  Ryan,  and all our team hydro swimmers!!  Let freedom, and freedom from the uncertainly of hydrocephalus, ring!!!

If you are uncertain how to raise funds, check out some helpful hints here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lWjWgaFaDf4pgdf8yEAjnEdB8SFrfKlTI6oPAaYTKuI/edit