I am participating for the tenth year in this Swim Across America event in the Long Island Sound.  Last year, I re-entered the water in late January or six months prior to the event and registered for the 5K.  While easier than the previous year when I re-entered only three months prior, swim remained a challenge and managed to make it to shore under my own power.  This year, I have been swimming continuously (like the "good ol' days) so hope that 5K should be manageable. As has been the case since I started SAA swim events in 2014, I will be swimming under the banner of Team Mackey, named for friend and former colleague Bill Mackey who unfortunately succumbed in March 2023 after a remission from lymphoma for over 10 years.  I have also embraced the mantle of team captain from Tim Helms a few years ago when he retired to sunny California.  Since his retirement, Tim has also staged a successful multi-year battle against prostate cancer.  Unfortunately, not all Team Mackey stories end on a positive note.  Rich Holzinger, a Team Mackey member in its infancy, succumbed to brain cancer in 2021.

I am sorry to say that I have friends and family members who are less fortunate in their fight  with cancer.  I am also swimming in the memory of Lou Mante, a long-time friend, and my Best Man, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer eighteen years ago when he was 47.  In the last several years, my cousin Joe Morra lost his unexpected and very short battle at age 58.  On the other side of the ocean, my cousin Vincenzo Musci passed at age 62.

All of the “M’s” on my list share/shared common traits – very good men in word and deed, loving husbands and caring fathers and, in the case of  Lou, Joe, Vincenzo and now Bill, taken from their family and friends at much too young an age.  It is in their strength in their fight as well as the strength of their families that inspire and motivate me.  Thankfully, I know several cancer survivors, such as Tim and fellow Greenwich Y members  Tiffany Christiansen and Joe Schepis - their success stories give me hope that we will one day defeat this dreadful affliction.

While I have generally experienced good health, this year had me facing some health challenges of my own.  In early April, I had a simple/non-cancerous prostatectomy to address issues that “men of a certain age” such as myself face. I am happy to report that no cancer was detected (unlike King Charles who had a similar procedure earlier this year).  While ultimate success will be measured in the future, all post-operative signs have been positive. 

In advance of this procedure (that took several months of consultation and testing), I did my best to be in good shape both for the procedure itself and to position myself to recover in time for SAA July 27.  In November, I completed a 6,400-meter continuous swim in honor of my 64th birthday (longest swim since I completed the 10K SAA in 2018.)  After some post-Thanksgiving health setbacks that started me on my prostatectomy journey, I have been exercising and swimming diligently.  I have already completed a 5,500 yard continuous swim in ~1.5 hours and did 3 sets of 1,250 yards in an hour the day before my surgery. 

I was cleared to return to swimming earlier this week and returned to the pool to do 1,600 continuous meters.  Those with cancer have faced more difficult challenges so I maintain my goal to swim 5K at the end of July. 

I appreciate any and all support for this important cause - be it a financial gift, if your situation allows, an encouraging word or positive thoughts for all those who have been afflicted by this terrible disease.  Join me in Making Waves to Fight Cancer.

If interested in making a donation, you can make a credit card donation via this site or send a check payable to "Swim Across America" to:

Swim Across America

P.O. Box No. 217

Larchmont, NY 10538-0217

For checks, please include my name and "Team Mackey" on the reference line.

I want to thank you in advance for your support.