Cailin Canella, who is fighting bone cancer, is flanked by a trio of Olympians in Tripp Schwenk (left) and UF stars Jan Switknowski (middle) and gold-medalist Caeleb Dressel (right).
Dream Team: Dressel, Switkowski Make Cancer Patient's Day
Wednesday, May 10, 2017 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Chris Harry
UF Olympians Caeleb Dressel and Jan Switkowski helped make a young swimmer's dream come true.
So imagine the emotion that overcame the 13-year-old Saturday night when she came face-to-face with a pair of University of Florida 2016 Olympians — U.S. gold-medalist Caeleb Dressel and Poland qualifier Jan Switkowski — who came to Tampa to walk Cailin down the runway at the 14th Annual Fashion Funds the Cure charity gala hosted by the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Dressel and Switkowski were part of the dream portion of the event that pairs a model, each of them a cancer patient, with individuals who represent their dream profession.
Cailin, who is battling Osteosarcoma, was among the 14 models either fighting cancer or in remission. The show, featuring former Gators quarterback Jesse Palmer as emcee, also included 49 alumni models who had walked in previous shows, with 46 of them cancer survivors. They walked the runway in groups based on the number of years they'd been cancer-free, with that number on their backs.
The last group to take the runway was Cailin and her UF escorts. Former Olympic medalist Tripp Schwenk, of nearby Sarasota, Fla., made the stroll as well.
"The University of Florida swimmers really gave me confidence to keep going despite my circumstances, and to do what I love and never give up," she said. "They spent a lot of time talking to me and we exchanged numbers so we can talk any time. It was the best night of my life."
Added foundation CEO David Frazer: "Seeing the smile on the kids' faces as their dreams become a reality is what this show is about. Caeleb and Jan went above and beyond for Cailin to make her night special and we are very grateful for their support."
The event, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, raised $540,000, with the money earmarked for the Sunshine Project, which is a network of 20 hospitals nationwide (including UF Health) that collaborate to fast-track less toxic, more targeted therapies for a cure.
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