Pictured: Kelly Garrett paddled on her knees to raise awareness for cystic fibrosis. Provided photo.

Last month Kelly Garrett took on an extraordinary challenge to raise awareness for cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder affecting the lungs, pancreas and other vital organs. As a community partnership specialist at Empath Health—a nonprofit offering hospice and home-based care—Garrett, who lives in Venice, felt personally connected through her mother’s experience in hospice care.

Garrett planned to paddle 125 kilometers across open water—from Bimini, Bahamas, to Lake Worth, Florida—to spotlight the struggles of those living with cystic fibrosis. The event, launching at midnight in Bimini, was expected to last 18 hours.

The idea sparked after Garrett met Jennifer McGaw at Agility Physical Fitness and Physical Therapy. McGaw introduced her to Piper’s Angels, a foundation supporting those with cystic fibrosis. “I love to paddleboard and I’m always drawn to big challenges,” says Garrett. “What started as a personal test became a mission to support the CF community.”

To help cover their $2,000 per-paddler fundraising required goal, Garrett and McGaw rallied their community through grassroots efforts—from line dancing nights to a cornhole tournament. Weeks before the event, however, she ruptured a tendon in her foot and was required to wear a medical boot. Cleared only days before launch, she had to paddle on her knees. Things worsened when their support boat broke down just before departure and their support team member faced flight delays, arriving just hours before launch. With no time to rehearse, Garrett and McGaw joined a different captain’s boat. “The seas were rough—five-foot swells made it almost impossible to paddle,” she says.

At midnight on Sunday, June 22, they launched into the darkness. “It felt like fighting the ocean,” Garrett recalls. “The darkness made it hard to tell where the ocean ended and the sky began.”

Sunrise brought a rainbow, but storms forced them out of the water multiple times. Around 12:30pm on June 22, they reached Lake Worth. “Hand in hand, we ran to the finish—though I reinjured my foot,” adds Garrett. “We hit the bell, raised our flag and cried.”

Their successful crossing, despite injury and setbacks, was a powerful testament to resilience, friendship and community. Garrett’s mantra through it all: I can do hard things, and so can you.

Pictured: Kelly Garrett paddled on her knees to raise awareness for cystic fibrosis. Provided photo.