Monday, May 18, 2009
Swim Registration is OPEN!
The Date is officially Sept 13th, and Registration is OPEN. Swimmers and Kayakers should register here: http://www.hudsonriverswim.org/index.html
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Thanks So Much to Everyone!
The 2008 Hudson River Swim has come and gone and from EVERYONE involved in this event we would all like to express our profound thanks!
So where to start in describing this event??????
Well…… It started with a lot of prayer on the Thursday and Friday prior to the swim. Hurricane Hanna was on her way north and we were (I'm ashamed to say) all praying she would strike her blow on Sunday morning causing the swim to be cancelled. (there was no rain date scheduled!!!)....... Well she came north faster than expected and Sunday turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day.
So...... Sunday morning Norma Jean, Emma, Marjorie and I connected with Ryan and Lucas in their kayaks and ended up having a wonderful swim in PERFECT conditions. Lucky for us swimmers we never even saw John in his powerboat.
The energy in this event is really indescribable. The day begins with a modicum of nervous apprehension in anticipation of the swim. Lots of people wandering around, a story or two from a survivor for inspiration, and then we all board school busses headed for the other side of the river. After some more waiting we finally get the green light.
The first couple minutes are quite a scramble. You’re a little bit disoriented. There are arms and legs and feet everywhere. After a couple of minutes your body gets going, your breathing settles, you become spaced out, and you settle into a groove, watching with each breath the fantastic view from the water.
The first 90 minutes really pass quite quickly. It is when you finally get close to to the end that it seems to take forever. You can see the hundreds of people on shore. You hear the noise of the crowd. Each stroke takes forever.
You swim and swim and swim and you think you are in shallow enough water to walk out and it is too deep so you swim some more. You finally put your foot down and feel the ground below you and take the first step feeling as though you have totally forgotten how to walk. You hear the noise of the crowd but in a strange way you don’t as you are really focused on putting one foot in front of the next.
We all came to shore with a glorious greeting from our friends, family, and supporters. The energy is AWESOME. You feel great for your accomplishment. You are really on top of the world at this point.
As you struggle to find your supporters you scan the crowd looking for a friendly face, and despite your exhaustion, your eyes manage to focus on a 23 year old bald woman laughing, and smiling, and cheering. In that instant you really feel this amazing sense of community and humanity as the two hour swim pales in comparison to what other have gone through in their fight against cancer.
It is truly humbling to be just a small part of this event! With the help of everyone who donated, fund-raised, kayaked, provided support in their powerboat, or swam we all collectively created a community and I’m so so so proud to say that OUR COMMUNITY is making a difference!
So where to start in describing this event??????
Well…… It started with a lot of prayer on the Thursday and Friday prior to the swim. Hurricane Hanna was on her way north and we were (I'm ashamed to say) all praying she would strike her blow on Sunday morning causing the swim to be cancelled. (there was no rain date scheduled!!!)....... Well she came north faster than expected and Sunday turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day.
So...... Sunday morning Norma Jean, Emma, Marjorie and I connected with Ryan and Lucas in their kayaks and ended up having a wonderful swim in PERFECT conditions. Lucky for us swimmers we never even saw John in his powerboat.
The energy in this event is really indescribable. The day begins with a modicum of nervous apprehension in anticipation of the swim. Lots of people wandering around, a story or two from a survivor for inspiration, and then we all board school busses headed for the other side of the river. After some more waiting we finally get the green light.
The first couple minutes are quite a scramble. You’re a little bit disoriented. There are arms and legs and feet everywhere. After a couple of minutes your body gets going, your breathing settles, you become spaced out, and you settle into a groove, watching with each breath the fantastic view from the water.
The first 90 minutes really pass quite quickly. It is when you finally get close to to the end that it seems to take forever. You can see the hundreds of people on shore. You hear the noise of the crowd. Each stroke takes forever.
You swim and swim and swim and you think you are in shallow enough water to walk out and it is too deep so you swim some more. You finally put your foot down and feel the ground below you and take the first step feeling as though you have totally forgotten how to walk. You hear the noise of the crowd but in a strange way you don’t as you are really focused on putting one foot in front of the next.
We all came to shore with a glorious greeting from our friends, family, and supporters. The energy is AWESOME. You feel great for your accomplishment. You are really on top of the world at this point.
As you struggle to find your supporters you scan the crowd looking for a friendly face, and despite your exhaustion, your eyes manage to focus on a 23 year old bald woman laughing, and smiling, and cheering. In that instant you really feel this amazing sense of community and humanity as the two hour swim pales in comparison to what other have gone through in their fight against cancer.
It is truly humbling to be just a small part of this event! With the help of everyone who donated, fund-raised, kayaked, provided support in their powerboat, or swam we all collectively created a community and I’m so so so proud to say that OUR COMMUNITY is making a difference!
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Images Above:
- The Team
- Crowd At Finish Line
- Norma Jean Finishing
- Emma Finishing
- Looking Across
- Mark & Emma After Finishing
Friday, July 18, 2008
TJ Granata Swims in Loving Memory of his Mother
Lois M Granata after beating breast cancer in 1983 and bladder cancer in 2000 was diagnosed in May of 2005 with Leukemia which quickly added her to its victim list in November of 2005.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Marjorie Lang swims for Morgan Mosley, Age 3 - Diagnosed in 2008
Diagnosed with ALL on April 4th 2008. She is 3 months into treatment and she is doing very well. She has already won over everyone’s heart in the clinic and tells everyone how she is going to be a doctor when she get older. Thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers
Monday, June 23, 2008
Norma Jean Longfield swimming for Jerry Vezza - Diagnosed in 2007
After 10 months of intense radiation and chemotherapy, Jerry has been given a clean bill of health and is cancer FREE. Jerry continues to grow stronger everyday, and is now getting back to life.
Emma Cornfield swimming for Laurie Pracher - Diagnosed 2007
In honor of Emma's Stepmom, Laurie Pracher diagnosed Feb 2007 with still rare, and once mostly fatal, form of leukemia called CML-surviving 18 months now due to the research and development and testing of a drug called Gleevec over the past 8 years.
Emma Cornfield participated in the 2007 Swim Across the Hudson and claimed the title of the fastest swimmer on our team.
Emma Cornfield participated in the 2007 Swim Across the Hudson and claimed the title of the fastest swimmer on our team.
Welcome to the Team Oxygen Swim Blog
Every year Oxygen Electronics/Brokerlynx works to raise money for the Hudson River Swim, benefitting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Last year we raised over $15,000 to help in the fight against these deadly diseases. This year, we are looking to exceed our record, and along the way, share some stories from our individual swimmers, and the people in whose name they're raising money, through this blog.
Our efforts are a partnership between:
Our efforts are a partnership between:
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Click to Help Oxygen Electronics Raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Click to Help Oxygen Electronics Raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
