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Cathy Crawley didn’t let distance stop her from supporting her ill mother this Christmas.

As her mother, Barbara, learned she had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this month, Cathy was part way through an internship in rural Uganda, and not able to return to Canada.

So to raise funds for cancer research and with only one week of preparation, Cathy touched off of the rocky shore of Robben Island on Thursday, where the late Nelson Mandela was held captive for 17 years during apartheid, and swam to the shores of Western Cape.

“I never swam in ocean waters before,” Cathy said. She swam with the Guelph Marlins for 10 years as a child.

http://youtu.be/3KGhqnJvUJw

She completed the 7.5 kilometre swim in two hours and 15 minutes. Though not outright cold, the 14 C water had a numbing effect on her over time.

“If she can do six months of chemotherapy, surely I can swim in cold waters for two hours,” Cathy said.

Support her fundraiser here on cancer.ca