CHICAGO — Having cancer has made Emily Crabtree too weak to swim, but that hasn't stopped her from raising nearly $5,000 to help find a cure for the disease.
The North Center resident, 33, is captain of the fundraising "Badass Fan Club Team," which has 10 members — including family, friends and her doctors — competing in Saturday morning's Swim Across America event at Ohio Street Beach. Swimmers churn through Lake Michigan during the event, which raises money for the Rush University Cancer Center.
"It is such an amazing sight to have my family, friends, doctors and nurses swimming on my behalf for this event," Crabtree said. "Not all of these people are great swimmers, but here they are out at the event, swimming on my behalf since I can't be out there myself.
"It's very humbling to think that I could inspire people to participate in an event like this and raise money for the Rush Cancer Center."
Justin Breen says her supporters include the staff at Rush:
Crabtree has been a frequent guest at the cancer center since she was first diagnosed with MFH sarcoma — a type of bone cancer — in 2002 when she was 19 years old. She underwent 1½ years of chemotherapy and had six inches of her femur bone and two of her quad muscles removed. The bone was replaced with a metal rod.
She was cancer free for nine years, but cancer was spotted on her lungs in 2012. A year later, a tumor was found on her left thigh. The tumor in her leg eventually was removed. She's been on chemo since April 2014, which keeps her from performing high-impact activity like outdoor swimming. In the past, Crabtree has finished long outdoor swims, including a three-mile Lake Michigan race in 2013.
All of her treatments and surgeries since 2002 have been at Rush.
"I sit on the 10th floor at the Rush Cancer Center twice a month for chemotherapy, and I don't know what I would do without my Rush family," said Crabtree, the National Program Director for the Children's Tumor Foundation NF Endurance team.
This is the third year Crabtree has fielded a fundraising team for Swim Across America. Her squads have raised more than $12,000 overall, and $4,284 this year as of Wednesday afternoon.
One of her swimmers is her husband, Andrew, who has participated all three years in the water.
"For us the swim has become something of a reunion," said Andrew, 38. "Not only does our family come and swim, but we get to see all the doctors and nurses that have helped Emily over the years."
For more information on Swim Across America, click here. To make a donation to Crabtree's team, click here.
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