Need some motivation to get you through these last few weeks of training, or need to be inspired that your effort to raise funds and awareness for this cause is is really making a difference?
One Million Lives
Take a look at these stories about REAL people attempting to live with Hydrocephalus:
- Sweet baby Gabriel died of Hydrocephalus when he was just a few weeks old, because his doctors didn’t recognize and treat his condition in time.
- Amanda‘s shunt has failed more times than she can remember causing her to have to drop out of a normal high school program and forced her study at home alone instead.
- Katie suddenly developed a difficult to manage seizure disorder as a result of her hydro, and now lives in fear, not only of shunt malfunctions, but the seizures they cause as well.
- Priscilla, the first woman ever to be named to the Law Review at Harvard Law School, died prematurely of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (which would have been treatable!) and spent her last years in unnecessary mental and physical decline — all because doctors, who did not know enough about NPH, misdiagnosed her problems as being due to Alzheimer’s Disease
- Ryan hoped to swim with us last year, but his Hydrocephalus was acting up so he needed to stay home near his neurosurgeon instead; he hopes to rejoin Team Hydro in 2016
- John died of a brain infection after undergoing surgery to fix his broken shunt.
- Our own sister Kate suffered through close to 200 brain surgeries before she finally passed from hydrocephalus.
These stories represent just a few of the people for whom we swim!!
Every life is important!! WE need a cure now!!! WE need to help each of the over 1 million Americans struggling with their own stories.
YOU can swim on behalf of someone too!
On race day, all swimmers will be given a hospital bracelet with the name of a person with Hydrocephalus, along with his/her personal story. If you desire, you may wear this hospital bracelet as you dedicate your swim to this courageous person.
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!