Sierra Nevada Open Water 4 MS
- WHEN I SWIM -
"I am at One with Myself and at One with the World"
"Raising MS Awareness with every Lake I Swim"
WHY I SWIM
At 51 years of age, I found myself standing on the pool deck, permanently disabled, out of the workforce, and wondering what I was going to do now? Taking stock of my life, my talents, my strengths and accomplishments, and all of the things my MS had robbed me of doing and enjoying is when I realized swimming was not one of them. I started swimming at a very young age and have been swimming ever since. Swimming is an activity that I have always found pleasure in and I am still able to enjoy doing, and do well. Swimming solely with my upper-body using a pull buoy to float my legs mind you.
Soon after in 2013, I found myself in the Pacific Ocean doing my first open water swim. A two mile swim at Hermosa Beach, CA benefitting The Challenged Athletes Foundation. I was enlightened and enthused upon returning home knowing that I had just found my new love and purpose in life. A means by which I can bring about much needed
MS Awareness through my Open Water Swimming.
Swimming since become my new vocation and the vehicle I use in raising Worldwide MS Awareness and Inspiring Others of All Abilities.
OPEN WATER AHEAD
2013 SWIMS: Board Shorts Mile (Hermosa Beach, CA)
Challenged Athletes Triathlon (La Jolla Cove, CA)
2014 SWIMS: Naples Island SUP & Swim (Long Beach, CA)
Shark Fest San Diego / Coronado (San Diego, CA)
2015 SWIMS: Naples Island SUP & Swim (Long Beach, CA)
Shark Fest San Diego / Coronado (San Diego, CA)
2016 SWIMS: Naples Island SUP & Swim (Long Beach, CA) Shark Fest San Diego / Coronado (San Diego, CA)
2017 SWIMS: Shaver Lake (Shaver Lake, CA / Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Naples Island SUP & Swim (Long Beach, CA)
Shark Fest San Diego (Coronado Island / San Diego, CA)
2018 SWIMS: Huntington Lake, CA / Western Sierra Nevada Mountains)
2019 SWIMS: Bass Lake, CA (Western Sierra Nevada Mountains) Naples Island SUP & Swim (Long Beach, CA)
2020 (NO SWIMS DUE TO COVID-19)
2021 SWIMS: June Lake, CA (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains) Gull Lake, CA (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Lake Mary (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains)
2022 SWIMS: Lake, CA (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains) Lake George, CA (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Challenged Athletes Triathlon (Mission Bay, CA)
2023 SWIMS: Tenaya Lake, CA (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains) Lake George, CA (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Challenged Athletes Triathlon (Mission Bay, CA)
2024 SWIMS: Tioga Lake, CA (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Challenged Athletes Triathlon (Mission Bay, CA)
For me, swimming is freedom. It is the one place where the physical and mental challenges of living with multiple sclerosis no longer define me. While MS has changed many aspects of my life, it has never taken away my ability to enter the water and discover who I truly am.
In the water, I am not defined by my disease or my limitations. I stand as an equal—alongside anyone, regardless of physical ability. Swimming has become my sanctuary, my equalizer, and the place where I feel whole.
Swimming is no longer just something I do. It is who I have become. It is my identity, my vocation, and my purpose. It is the force that drives me to raise awareness, inspire others living with multiple sclerosis, and demonstrate that while MS may change the course of a life, it does not have to define its possibilities.
Mission:
My mission is to inspire hope and raise awareness of multiple sclerosis by undertaking high-elevation open-water endurance swims throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Each lake I cross represents more than a distance—it represents resilience over adversity, possibility over limitation, and the belief that our greatest challenges can become our greatest purpose life purpose, while inspiring others of all abilities.
Sierra Nevada Open Water 4MS
More than 2.3 million people worldwide are living with multiple sclerosis, a chronic and unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. For many, MS can lead to physical disability, cognitive challenges, loss of employment, and increasing isolation from the activities and people we love. Sierra Nevada Open Water 4MS is committed and unwavering: to raise awareness, support research aimed at finding a cure, and fund programs that improve the quality of life for those living with MS, such as myself. Every lake I/we swim represents another opportunity to bring about MS awareness and inspiring action in the hope of one day finding a cure for MS.
More than 2.3 million people worldwide are living with multiple sclerosis, a chronic and Moving forward...
Moving forward, I invite you to become part of this journey. Whether you choose to support my efforts, make a donation, volunteer, or even join me in the water by swimming or paddling alongside me, you become part of something much bigger than a single swim. Together, we can raise awareness of multiple sclerosis, provide hope to those living with MS, and help fund the research that will one day lead to a cure.
Let's make it happen.
— Dix