Local CT Amputee Joins Team of Amputees Swimming from New York to Connecticut to Raise Money and Awareness for Cancer Patients

Media Invited to Team Training Session Thursday, August 2 


BRIDGEPORT, Conn., Aug. 1  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Every year since 1987, individual swimmers and teams of athletes swim 15.5-miles from New York to Connecticut to raise money and awareness for cancer patients in a charity race called Swim Across the Sound hosted by St. Vincent's Medical Center.  For the past three years, a special team of survivors who lost their legs to cancer and other accidents have traveled from across the country to swim in this annual event.  For the first time ever, a local amputee from Milford, CT has joined the inspirational team of amputee survivors.

  WHO:    60-year-old first-time swimmer Joe Marsala from Milford, CT
          lost his leg in 1995 in a motorcycle accident.  The three other
          amputee swimmers of Team Hanger are bone cancer survivors who each
          lost a leg in the battle against cancer -- Mark Rowley (Arizona),
          Cindy Underwood and Kyle Underwood (Ohio).  The fifth swimmer,
          Paul Armstrong from Vernon, CT, is a certified prosthetic
          practitioner who has dedicated his life to helping amputees reach
          their highest levels of independence and mobility.

  WHEN:   Thursday, August 2, 9:00 - 11:00am -- Media ONLY are invited to
          the team's last training session at Cardinal Sheenan Center, 1494
          Main Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut; the five swimmers will train
          together and then speak to approx. 20 elementary school students
          from a local summer camp.

          Saturday, August 4 -- Media are invited to the race start and
          completion.
          8:00am; Danford's Marina (adjacent to Port Jefferson Ferry
          Terminal); swimmers prepare on the docks for an 8:15am departure;
          race starts off the coast.
          4:30 - 7:00pm; Swimmers finish at Captain's Cove Marina,
          Bridgeport, CT; celebration to follow.

  WHY:    As the only all-amputee relay team ever to swim in the Swim Across
          the Sound (http://www.swimacrossthesound.org/), Team Hanger's goal
          is to inspire hope and motivation in others who may be facing
          difficult times.  Joined by 13 solo amateur swimmers and 25 other
          relay teams, the four swimmers of Team Hanger will swim from Port
          Jefferson, NY to Bridgeport, CT.  All of the money raised will go
          to cancer patients, their families, and 34 cancer prevention,
          screening, and education programs.  Tax-deductible donations to
          support Team Hanger can be made at
          http://www.active.com/donate/sas2007/teamhanger2007.

  Contact:   Dennis Huysman, 860-575-0961, 
             Jennifer Bittner, 301-280-4869, 

DATASOURCE: Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc.



CONTACT:  Dennis Huysman, [phone], , or

Jennifer Bittner, [phone], , both of Hanger

Orthopedic Group, Inc.



Web site:  http://www.hanger.com/

http://www.active.com/donate/sas2007/teamhanger2007

http://www.swimacrossthesound.org/ 

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