nightside

Michelle Deaton remembers telling her son, Wyatt, that she had cancer. “I said, ‘I need you to go with me to get a wig because the medicine that I’m taking is going to make me lose my hair.’ Of course, he got very upset,” she said. Doctors diagnosed Michelle with secretory carcinoma, a rare form of breast cancer, in April of 2018. At the time, Wyatt was eight years old and had just joined the Tampa Elite Aquatics Manta Rays, a local competitive swimming team.Shortly after, the Deaton family learned about Swim Across America, a national organization hosting swim events to raise money for cancer research, clinical trials and patient programs. Joining was a no-brainer for Wyatt.