In late 2024, Corinne (age 4) was diagnosed with a Stage IV Wilms tumor, a kidney cancer that had metastasized to her lungs. Enduring a nearly nine-hour long surgery, eight days of radiation treatment, and over six months of chemotherapy, our little girl remains in the fight and has been a beacon of resilience as she is guided through this battle. The team at Texas Children's - including Dr. Smith, Dr. Luckie, Dr. Vasudevan, her nurse coordinator Jennifer, and the countless others providing her care - have been paramount in her progress.
We have been so touched by the life-long dedication of her medical teams and inspired by the love and support received from so many since September that we felt a calling to attempt to pay it forward. Texas Children's has taken us to the front lines of this terrible disease and introduced us to many families battling even rarer cancers, fighting the incredibly difficult diseases, responding to the side effects of treatment, and relying on years of research from world class medical teams doing everything they can to win. As a way of giving back, we launched this event as our way of paying that kindness forward and saying thank you to Texas Children's for taking care of our daughter and so many others dedicating their lives to the research and care of any child battling cancer.
Taking place on July 26, 2025, registered swimmers in this event will test their endurance swimming a continuous 500, 1000, 2500 and 5000 meters in honor of Corinne. Swimmers will be cheered on by their families and friends in a fun-filled morning marking what we hope will also celebrate the end of Corinne's treatment regimen!
All funds raised in this event will be directed toward the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Lab at Texas Children's Hospital, who with a team of experts perform cutting-edge clinical, translational, and basic science research focused on pediatric solid tumors. Led by Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan, their work is centered on finding new cures through cancer modeling, molecular profiling, and preclinical testing of novel targeted agents.
Interested in Swimming? Please contact Michael Finnerty at finnerty.michael@gmail.com