STORY BYThe day before Frances Poole Knight, 73, flew to California to swim in the National Senior Olympics in August, she got bad news. A recent mammogram had shown some calcification in her breast—“little crystals,” as she puts it—and she had to return for a biopsy. The diagnosis: breast cancer.
But Knight, a spirited woman who had already won gold and silver medals in Texas senior competitions in spite of two hip implants, wasn’t about to cancel her long-anticipated trip.
“All my friends were so excited about my going and I couldn’t just drop out,” she explains.
She went ahead and competed in the Olympic meet before coming home for a partial mastectomy, followed by radiation therapy. And she “felt fine” through the whole process and can even joke about the surgery.
“Now that I’ve had part of my breast removed, my ‘girls’ are no longer identical twins,” she says.
Knight, who was the contracts and grants administrator in the department of surgery at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston before her retirement in 2005, didn’t win any more medals in California.
But she’s not discouraged.
Among the 10,000 athletes, 3,500 were swimmers; in the age 70-74 category she entered three events and placed 17th, 20th and 25th. And she’s already looking ahead to 2011, when the National Senior Games will be held in Houston.
“I’ll be 75 then,” she explains, “and as a younger contestant (in the 75-79 category) I’ll be in a better situation to win.”
All the exercise she gets helps Knight stay positive and maintain her sense of humor. And with the maiden name of “Poole” and new license plates that read “SWM,” swimming seems like the perfect fit.
She works out in a pool at a local health club every other day, swimming 32 laps (half a mile) in 20-25 minutes. But in spite of such vigorous workouts, she’s still large. She’s 5-foot-6-inches, having shrunk two inches from her original 5-foot-8, and while declining to reveal her actual weight, she describes herself jokingly as "an imposing figure of a woman.”
Why, she once asked her cardiologist, does she not lose weight with all the exercise she gets? His reply: The temperature of the water doesn’t allow you to sweat, and to lose weight you must sweat while exercising.
Swimming has always played a big part in Knight’s life. She jokes that because she’s a Pisces (the astrological sign for fish) born in Galveston, she was destined to love the water. The youngest of four children, she grew up swimming. When she moved with her family to Houston, she joined the swim team at Lamar High School and later the synchronized swim team called “The Corkettes” at the Shamrock Hilton Hotel.
Later, married with two children, there was little time to work out. When her two children were three and five, she got divorced, had to go to work and had even less time for exercise. It wasn’t until she was in her 60s that she started swimming again.
In spite of all those early years in the water, she hadn’t been taught about the importance of exercise, Knight says, and she had some problems with depression as she got older. She also has “many things wrong with me,” including diabetes, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, osteoarthritis, and now, cancer. The artificial hips are the result of osteoarthritis, but those 1998 and 2005 hip replacements haven’t slowed her down except perhaps in competitive swimming.
She doesn’t dive any more, she says, because hitting the water might dislocate her hips, “and you’re already behind when you don’t do racing dives.”
In addition to swimming, Knight’s other hobby is singing. She is a member of three choirs: the Chancel Choir at First Presbyterian Church, the United Nations Association International Choir and the Tuesday Musical Club women’s chorus.
Singing and swimming have parallels, she says. Both require rhythm, pacing, tempo and stamina. Both hobbies also can relieve stress and strong breathing is critical to both.
Knight is involved in other activities, including serving as president of The University of Texas Houston Retiree Organization (UTHRO). And she can’t stress enough how important it is for older people to stay active, both mentally and physically.
Yet another benefit of swimming, at least for Knight, is the fun she has displaying her medals. When she showed them to her orthopedic surgeon at the Kelsey Seybold Clinic, he was so impressed he snapped her photo standing next to the x-rays of her hips.
“I’ve gotten very aware of how I look as I’ve gotten older,” she adds, “and I hate it when someone asks me if I need help.” She laughs and adds, “that’s when I love to whip out my medals.”
Last Updated: 10-22-2009
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Simple Ways to Help
Young and Old Eyes
May is Healthy Vision Month and it is imperative to take care of eyes whether they’re young or old.
Children should have their vision checked by age 6, even if there aren’t any signs of eye problems. Healthy eyes and vision are very important to a child’s development. Finding and treating eye problems early on can save a child’s sight. Two common eye problems in children are:
Both of these eye problems can be treated if they are found early.
Here are ways to help your child develop vision skills:
Don’t let poor vision put elders at risk. Leave a three-foot, clear path through each room of their house. Outline edges of steps, coffee tables, doorways and bathtubs with colored tape to contrast with surrounding areas. Install lights along outdoor pathways and keep foyers well lit to avoid having to enter dark areas. Replace switch plates with colors that contrast with walls, or outline them with tape of contrasting colors. It is also always smart to use nightlights during the night.
