“The reason that I got back into swimming, I didn't even realize what I was needing. I think it was somewhere just buried deep down that swimming would help me through, like it did before.” Laura grew up in the East Bay of San Francisco. She loved summer league swimming and passing out on her towel from the sun and exercise. But there was a sad part of her life as well. Her dad had a habit of disappearing. That was hard on a young girl’s confidence. But swimming changed that. And with the confidence she gained from swimming, she changed her dad’s life too. Listen to this inspiring story of how little ripples turn into big waves.

Judi Ketteler was in the position of caring for children and aging parents at the same time. Being a freelance writer and the primary breadwinner on top of that added another level of stress. She dealt with that stress through her writing, and by running – until she was injured. Judi was determined not to have a “midlife crisis”. When her doctor told her she couldn’t run for a while. She spontaneously declared, “I’m going to swim.” Learning to swim well enough to serve as a substitute stress release was all part of the journey.

Swimmers around the country are having a huge impact in the fight against cancer. With funds raised from charity swims, Swim Across America (SAA) funded the clinical trial that led to FDA approval of Keytruda, an immunotherapy used against several types of cancer. In this episode, I talked to the two doctors in the San Francisco Bay Area whose programs benefit from the local Swim Across America event. Dr. Julie Saba leads a research lab looking into the causes of two childhood cancers in hopes of finding new treatments. Dr. Rob Goldsby helps survivors of childhood cancer deal with the late effects of their cancer and its treatment, which even when successful, often results in new risks later in life. Rob Butcher, the CEO of Swim Across America, explained their model, the impact it is having and how they have been so successful. Craig Beardsley, Director of Partnerships for SAA shared the interesting and inspiring history of the organization.

Instead of the usual stories of people whose lives were changed by swimming, this month I’m sharing the story of swimmers who changing the lives of others. Swim Across America hosts charity open water swims in 20 cities across the US (as well as several pool swims). The money raised by those events goes to support cancer research and clinical trials in those cities. I had the privilege of speaking with a handful of Olympians who donate their time to support the swim in San Francisco Bay. Once you hear their stories, you’ll be ready to dive in.

In 2013, a single car accident left Terrence Keller with a traumatic brain injury and legally blind. Before that day, he had been a school principal and active as a martial arts instructor. His doctors told him it was unlikely he’d return to school as a principal or a teacher. Three years of physical therapy began with learning to recover his balance just so he could walk without assistance. Although he was never a great swimmer, while doing therapy in the pool, he discovered a feeling of strength that set him on the path to regaining his confidence and his life.

After the breakup of an eight year relationship, Sonia Thompson began a journey of rediscovery. It started with a desire to learn how to surf. But at the age of 31, she had to overcome one small barrier. She couldn’t swim. At each stage of her journey, she said “yes” to the next challenge and the next adventure. As a result she has a new job, a new home and a new life. Oh yeah, she can swim, too.

At the Pacific Masters Short Course Yards Championships on April 6-8 there were swimmers who started when they were young and some experiencing competition for the very first time. All of them were enjoying the camaraderie and having a good time. A handful shared their stories and their reasons for swimming.

"Fast people swim fast. It’s not a physical thing, it’s a mental thing. If you’re going to be a fast swimmer you need to embody that. You need to own it and you need to be it."

00:00 18:33Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. Swimming found me. I’ve got you. You’re not going anywhere, swimming told me. Manny Gutierrez emigrated from Venezuela to give his family a better future. He discovered masters swimming almost by accident. After wandering in to the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, he quickly made friends and was invited by the coach of Coral Springs Masters to swim with the team. He has moved past the Johnny Weissmuller freestyle drill and is now competing in freestyle and breaststroke. And he continues to meet friends beyond his own team at meets. In this episode, he shares the ups and downs of his journey. A special thanks to Carol Brzozowski, shown below, for connecting me with Manny after I read her article about him in Swimmer magazine.

Not surprisingly, many Masters swimmers end up married to or in a committed relationship with another swimmer. That qualifies as the kind of life changing event we like to share here at Flip Turns. Where I swim, you can’t twirl your goggles without hitting someone who met their spouse while swimming. I’ve heard some fantastic stories of falling in love between the lane lines. I met my wife in Lane 7 (she says it was Lane 8) at Heather Farm Park in 1994. We’ll share the details of our story if you share yours. We may have missed Valentine’s Day, but it’s never too late. How did your relationship get started? You can record a voice message up to 3 minutes in length below. When you click “Start” the recorder may open in a new browser window. Here are a couple ideas: Record your version of the story alone Grab your swimmin’ sweetie and record it together Tell your story and surprise your other half by sharing the episode when it goes live.