Printer Friendly Version - Early Morning Journey to Faulkner’s Goes Swimmingly

Pictured are (bottom row) Dean Brown (Guilford), James Lai (Guilford), Stacy Smith (Guilford), Peter Fitton (Guilford), Julia Cron (Guilford), Amy Steffen (Madison), Whitney Peterson (Guilford), John Beiner (Madison); along with (top row) William Zucconi (Madison), Scot Little (New Haven), Matt Peterson (Guilford), Marty Cappiello (Old Saybrook), Teresa Flynn (Guilford), Sarah Brown (Guilford), Bridget Riordan (Mystic), Mandy Bonz (Guilford), and Ed Vescovi (Branford).

A brave group of 16 swimmers gathered on the rocks at Sachem's Head Yacht Club at dawn only July 3—before most of the town was awake—to mark an important milestone in the life of Guilford resident Julie Cron by swimming almost four miles to Faulkner's Island. With the help of volunteers in the form of boat escorts and cheerleaders, the wetsuit-clad cohort plunged into the smooth waters and swam toward a rising sun. With the lighthouse as a marker, the journey was a challenging and life-affirming way to mark the anniversary of the date that Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Cron started the ball rolling earlier this year during a casual conversation among friends, saying, "Perhaps we can swim to Faulkner's to mark the end of this year." She was thinking about a meaningful way to commemorate the 12 months from the time of her diagnosis with breast cancer. While she actually meant a team of swimmers taking turns with a stretch or two, she underestimated the level of enthusiasm that this plan would foster. People began to train. Her friends had seen her smile through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. They knew that an hour or two in the water was a party compared to what she had endured.

Cron hadn't expected that this meant she, too, was committed to the full distance, but she accepted this challenge in the same way she rose to the challenge of her cancer treatment—with grace, humor, and success. She swam the full distance and finished with a flourish, returning by boat to the rocks, where her children, friends, and neighbors waited to celebrate. Among this crowd with the biggest smile around stood Amy Fenollosa, the founder of KidsHUGS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children process the journey of life with a seriously ill parent.

Cron and her family accessed services through KidsHUGS throughout the year as she battled cancer and she credits those sessions of creative arts activities as critical to helping her two young children work through the emotions that are unique to a child whose parent is sick. As Cron's "Cancerversary Swim" gained momentum, the friends determined that KidsHUGS was the perfect recipient of donations by those involved in this special event.

We all have someone we know who has battled cancer and not everyone gets a chance to "celebrate" a Cancerversary. On July 3, at the crack of dawn, a lucky group did and, for this community, a look to Faulkner's Island now includes the feelings of hope, challenge, and success.

For more information about Kids HUGS or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.kidshugs.org

Written by Amy Steffen with help from Amy Fenollosa, Whitney Peterson, Liza Janssen Petra, and Julie Cron

Pictured are Dean Brown (Guilford), Whitney Peterson (Guilford), Sarah Brown (Guilford), Matt Peterson (Guilford), Julia Cron (Guilford), Amy Steffen (Madison), Teresa Flynn (Guilford), Peter Fitton (Guilford), and Marty Cappiello (Old Saybrook).