Diving in head (and heart) first

Marie and her daughter enjoying a night out

It’s not often that our Seas It team gets to meet grant recipients in person. Amanda was lucky enough to meet Marie, a young mother of 4 children and Stage IV Pancreatic cancer patient, this summer.  What struck Amanda the first time she met Marie was her positivity and warm smile. Marie was first diagnosed in 2013 and faced her second bout in 2014. Yes, Marie has cancer. But, cancer certainly hasn’t defined Marie or held her back from embracing life.

With help from her daughter, we realized that a yearly membership to the Aquatic Center at Monmouth University would allow Marie to swim on a regularly basis. Marie was looking for a healthy exercise regime to combat some of the side effects from her treatments: the stiffness, the aches, and the fatigue.

Marie was kind enough to share her experiences with us:

““Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. The Seas It foundation you have established in Todd’ s memory has helped others and me fighting cancer. I am a firm believer that his spirit lives in every one of us fighting Cancer. Thank you and SEAS IT for helping me get back to my “old self” or I should say “new normal”. The pool membership is a reminder that I still have a life to live and I have to get stronger in order to live it.””

“Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. The Seas It foundation you have established in Todd’ s memory has helped others and me fighting cancer. I am a firm believer that his spirit lives in every one of us fighting Cancer. Thank you and SEAS IT for helping me get back to my “old self” or I should say “new normal”. The pool membership is a reminder that I still have a life to live and I have to get stronger in order to live it.”