Woonona's Karen Davies used an MS Australia Go for Gold scholarship to check one item off her bucket list.
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The scholarship - funded through the 24-Hour Mega Swim events - helped the former high school teacher make it to Canada in 2013 to participate in the centenary celebrations of the school she taught at in 1991.
Next month the 59-year-old will be poolside at the University of Wollongong Mega Swim event to support participants as they raise funds for scholarships for others living with multiple sclerosis.
"These scholarships allow people with MS to do something that they wouldn't be able to do otherwise," Ms Davies said.
"I came to my disability later in life but many younger people diagnosed with MS have had to quit university in order to work out how to live with the disease, they've had to put off their studies and their dreams.
"These scholarships have supported such people to get back to their education, and have also helped in many other areas like travel, employment, sport, music and the arts."
She resigned from teaching in 1998 after being told she had a brain tumour. When MS symptoms came after treatment for that, she thought she had another tumour.
"The symptoms would come and go - one day it would feel like little animals were crawling under my skin or I'd lose feeling altogether, the next those feelings would be gone," Ms Davies said.
"Tests and scans ruled out another tumour, however the day I had to commando crawl from my bed to the phone was the day I knew I was in trouble."
In 2003 she was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS, where she has distinct attacks of symptoms which then fade away.
"I'm in remission most of the time but every time I relapse it's always a step back," Ms Davies said. "However while I've got MS, I won't let it define me. Research and development is ongoing, and there's plenty of aides and organisations offering support."
The MS Australia 24-Hour Mega Swim was developed in 2001, and since then events all over the country have helped raise more than $4 million to support people living with the degenerative neurological disease.
The March 21-22 event, at UOW's recreation and aquatic centre, is now in its fifth year and organisers hope to raise $45,000 in 2015.
Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ryan will join Illawarra swimmers at the event, and is challenging businesses, swim clubs and others to enter their own team.
Figtree Lions Club is assisting MS Australia in running the event; to register or for more information visit megaswim.com
