Cancer survivor overcomes fears to cross the finish line
MILWAUKEE - By her own description, Tiffany Johnson is not your typical triathlete.
"As a kid on the block, running with my friends, we were riding bikes, running the neighborhood, but as an adult, no," she said.
Normally Tiffany would not be running, biking or especially swimming.
But she is doing this as a part of Aurora Health Care and Team Phoenix, a group of cancer survivors training together and empowering each other.
"It's been a physical journey, it's been a mental journey, it's been an emotional journey, it's been a lot, but it has been fun," said Johnson.
The physical hurdle for Johnson was the result of her breast cancer and chemotherapy.
"I've been through a lot," she said. "My body has been through, and I never felt like I got my old body back."
(FOX6 News Milwaukee)
The mental roadblock could be found in the water.
Johnson is deathly afraid of swimming.
"It's controlled me for far too long and this program is teaching me that I don't have to be held hostage by fear," Johnson said.
Slowly but surely, she was able to get her feet wet.
"It's very intimidating to be in this big body of water and let go and trust," said Johnson. "The challenges of swimming -- I still don't have the confidence in myself to do it, but I am pushing myself every day, every training to accomplish something that I have never been able to do."
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The reason Johnson is able to push herself further each day is because of fellow cancer survivors like Theresa Bednar.
"It just gives you a joy, and it helps you to find literally joy in a cancer diagnosis," said Bednar.
Bednar went through the 14-week program in 2022, and now she volunteers. In this case, she is a swim angel for Johnson.
When the two first partnered up, it was all about getting Johnson comfortable in the water.
"I did that merely by putting my hands underneath her head, both hands underneath her head to start and swimming backward with her on her back and getting her used to the water and getting it, so she knew I was going to be there for her," Bednar said.
"That's the emotional part is to know that I'm surrounded around a bunch of women that have been carrying me through this swim because I don't have the courage, but they all have it for me," Johnson said.
Two women that had never met. Now they are forming a bond for life.
"We truly have developed a very good friendship beyond just being her swim angel," said Bednar. "It's beyond that."
"We've built this trust -- at least I trust her," said Johnson. "She knows my fears, and she reassures me every time that she has me and we're in this together. She is not only my swim angel, but my angel."
Johnson says the reason she put herself through all of this was to make sure she could be the healthiest version of herself. That would ensure she could always be there for her two daughters.
Johnson finished 28th in her age group, completing the 400-yard swim, 15-mile bike ride and 5k run in less than two hours and 40 minutes.