Charlie

Awaken the Dragon

The sound of a drum echoing off the Ashley River is the first hint something unique is happening. Subsequent drumming in the wee hours of the morning and our eyes are out the window.

There, gliding along the water like a fleet of Roman marines packed into a compact vessel, are the members of Dragon Boat Charleston. Twenty-four incredibly strong individuals – all of them cancer survivors.

“This is my family,” says Patty Byrne, Dragon Boat Charleston member and breast cancer survivor.

Byrne, an energetic 57-year-old blonde hardly looks like a woman who’s been fighting breast cancer for five years. Her sinewy arms and freckled tan proof of rowing prowess. Yet beneath that athletic build is a woman who’s had numerous surgeries for a mastectomy and lymphedema.

“We’ve all had body parts lopped off,” says Byrne. She pulls out the most recent Dragon Boat Charleston annual calendar, the team’s main fundraiser. Page after page she flips through images of her teammates – some who’ve just been diagnosed and are undergoing chemo, others who have been fighting cancer for years. “That’s Lynda Rock!” she says pointing to a particularly beautiful woman. “She’s a 7 year ovarian cancer survivor who coached us in Toronto and has been undergoing some fierce and debilitating chemo. She is such an inspiration to us all.” Byrne turns the pages and points at another gentleman. “He doesn’t have long for this world,” she says, then gently closes the calendar.

Quickly she smiles, “I’m so proud of them.” For Byrne and her teammates DBC isn’t just about keeping fit. It’s about being with a support group and working toward a common goal.

“It’s not about cancer. You leave all that crap on the dock,” she says.

This summer the team swept Nationals in Chattanooga and just returned from Toronto. Byrne says the next goal is to get to the world competition in Hong Kong in 2012. She has no doubt the award-winning team will qualify.

“Dragon Boat Charleston is about elation. It’s spiritual. You’re out there paddling your ass off,” she says speaking of not just the competition but of the rigorous local practices themselves. The team meets at the Bristol Marina and welcomes new members, both cancer survivors and supporters alike.

“There’s nothing like it,” says Byrne, “It’s so motivating.” She wipes her eyes and adds, “Dragon Boat Charleston saved my life.”

DragonBoatCharleston.org
AwakenTheDragon.com (Click on “trailer” to watch a great video)

Story by: Kinsey Gidick
Photos by: Joan Perry