Help Tanya raise money

Ocean swimming, especially during the colder months, has taught me many useful things. Such as:

Sometimes, the hardest part is the first step.
Sometimes, the second step is way worse!
For sure, the third step makes you question your entire personality!! 🤪
And then, somehow, the magic arrives...

The ocean is healing.
The ocean is humbling.
The ocean is also a #@!&^ %$@!!
And the first gasp should actually count as cardio. 

Over the past few years, the Salish Sea has been one of my most incredible anchors. It carried me through the loneliness of the pandemic, through losing my beautiful husband Jimmie to cancer in 2021, and through my own cancer treatments in 2022 and 2023.

Again and again, the sea reminded me to turn inward, quiet the noise, and breathe. It reminded me that I was still here, still strong, and still capable of joy, even in the hardest seasons.

This year, I’m taking part in SwimBowen again, a wonderful open-water swim that raises funds for the SwimBowen Cancer Care Fund, which supports Bowen Islanders during active cancer treatment. This fund helped my own family during an extremely difficult time, and I am so grateful for any chance to give back.

So, on July 11th, I’ll be at Tunstall Bay, swimming 750 meters with a heart full of gratitude for my community and the hopeful belief that my limbs will all cooperate (see below).

I would so appreciate your support again this year!!

Thank you from my heart. 💙💙💙

Below is a photo of last year's SwimBowen event, with my heavily swollen right arm due to lymphedema (a result of axillary lymph node removal, part of my treatment). I had also just had my left knee replaced. 🤪 It was not an easy swim!! Wish me luck this time around!! 💙