Irondequoit Post
Faced with her own struggles ... swimmer
reaches out to fulfill the wishes of others
September
12, 2012
By
Linda Quinlan
Irondequoit,
N.Y. — Irondequoit native Jody Wesgate and friend Tiina Leo of Irondequoit completed what they called a “Swim
for Wishes” Aug. 31.
They
jumped into Irondequoit Bay and swam its four-mile length in three hours and 13
minutes.
Jody’s
fundraising goal was to raise $7,500, the average cost of granting one wish,
for the local chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
To
date, she’s shy of her goal, with $6,190.
Jody
said the swim represented the human struggle that kids with life-threatening
medical conditions deal with every day, as well as her desire to help grant
their wishes.
Wesgate grew up on
Irondequoit Bay, she says, and is proud to call herself one of the so-called
“bay rats.”
She
said her inspiration for swimming the length of Irondequoit Bay is her dad, Don
Wesgate, now 73, of Irondequoit, who did the same
thing when he was 30. She and her dad have also been swimming the width of the
bay every summer, she said. She also has a brother who resides in Webster.
Having
dealt with her own struggles, Jody also wanted to show how people can support
one another, and how you can perhaps fall down, but also pick yourself up.
“I
realized that all I really had was what’s inside of me,” Wesgate
said. “I take things in life one day at a time now ... and that’s how I did the
swim: One stroke at a time.”
Out
of work for 21 months, Wesgate also had a breast
cancer scare and when she was getting ready for a triathlon earlier this year,
injured her knee so badly that she needed surgery Jan. 12.
“I
believe we should be stepping up to the plate and giving people hope ...
helping each other,” Wesgate said. “A lot of times, I
felt alone, but I learned the simple things are the most important ... and you
still have your spirit. I found my way around every single obstacle without assistance.”
She
trained for the four-mile swim by biking, swimming two to four miles in a pool
five days a week, weight-training — and swimming the width of the bay in July.
She
said the exercise helped keep her positive, not to mention helping with her
recovery from knee surgery.
Mary
Jones, Rochester regional director of Make-A-Wish, said the local group has
never had someone do something of this nature — like the swim — that Jody has.
“It’s
evident she has a strong network of supportive friends and family,” Jones said.
“Jody really did a lot of the work on her own ... And, I’m thankful I wasn’t
swimming!”
Make-A-Wish
did support Jody’s website, Jones said, and “lent a bit of moral support.” Two
donors, Victor Furniture and an anonymous benefactor, have already agreed to
make up any difference, she said, so Jody does achieve her $7,500 goal.
“I
just wanted to give someone else a dream,” Jody Wesgate
said.