How Providence Day swimmer Drennan Shall has turned pain into purpose

Drennan Shall beat cancer twice before he turned five. The disease weakened his left leg but couldn’t touch his will. So the 15-year-old does what cancer survivors do when they refuse to stay down: he fights back in the water.

Diagnosed as a toddler with Stage III, Group 3 rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive tissue cancer, Shall endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery before going into remission in 2013. The treatments left lasting weakness in his left foot and leg, qualifying him as a Paralympic swimmer with SwimMAC Carolina. Eight years of competitive swimming later, he’s transformed personal trauma into a mission that extends far beyond the pool.

Sunday marks his seventh consecutive Swim Across America at Camp Thunderbird in Lake Wylie, South Carolina. The event has raised approximately $220,000 this year for Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute and Levine Children’s Hospital, the same facilities where Drennan was treated.

“As someone who has faced cancer,” Shall said. “I know how important this cause is.”

Swim Across America’s mission

Fighting back. It’s what Shall does in the pool and what Swim Across America does with research dollars.

Patty Waldron, the event director who has coached competitive swimming in Charlotte for 46 years, understands that mindset. She joined Swim Across America after one of her masters swimmers died from lung cancer in December 2016.

“He really wasn’t a very fast swimmer,” Waldron said. “He had no quit, just like his battle against cancer, no quit. And you know, he didn’t ever quit. He just lost.”

Waldron attended an organizational meeting at Atrium in December 2017, met the doctors presenting research and walked up afterward with a promise.

“I said, ‘I’m in, my team’s in. And we’re going to raise you a lot of money.’”

Since 2017, Swim Across America — Charlotte has donated over $1 million to Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute and Levine Children’s Hospital. The ninth annual event is expected to draw more than 300 swimmers and 70 volunteers on Sunday.

The money fights back in tangible ways. Four FDA-approved drugs trace seed funding to Swim Across America, including Keytruda, which originally treated stage four lung cancer and now impacts 18 other cancers.

“Without the seed money from Swim Across America, that drug either would not have happened or wouldn’t have happened as soon,” Waldron said.

Swim Across America — Charlotte is the largest community donor for blood cancer research at Levine. The money funds studies on reducing chemotherapy toxicity, treating head and neck cancers rising nationally, and researching cancers prevalent in firefighters.

“A lot of treatments now have gone to CAR T-cell therapy. They’ve gone to immunotherapy versus the harshness of chemotherapy and surgery,” Waldron said. “There are a lot of people being treated with colon cancer with immunotherapy, and they go in in the morning, they get their therapy and they go to work.”

That’s winning. And Shall knows about winning.

Paralympic hopeful

He enrolled in swimming lessons for water safety, started summer league swimming at seven or eight, and has competed with SwimMAC Carolina for eight years. In early 2020, he traveled to Colorado Springs for Paralympic classification after meeting Paralympic swimmer Jamal Hill.

“It was just a great opportunity to meet so many inspirational swimmers,” Shall said. “And from that point on, it’s been just on the grind.”

The long-distance specialist, a sophomore swimmer at Providence Day School, targets the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

“I would love to make the Paralympics one day,” Shall said. “My ultimate goal is to represent the United States at a national level, which is a very, very high goal, but hopefully (I’ll give it) enough dedication that [making it] may be plausible.”

This year, Shall joined the Swim Across America — Charlotte Junior Advisory Board, a 23-member leadership group that applied to lead the 18-and-under fundraising effort called Team Unified. He works on the social media committee.

“He was just a no-brainer,” Waldron said. “Just because of his poise, his understanding of philanthropy and this cause is very near and dear to his heart.”

When Waldron took the Junior Advisory Board to visit Levine Children’s Hospital, staff remembered Shall. He’s that kind of presence; someone who jumped into the cause with what Waldron calls “refreshing enthusiasm.”

“He was born to lead,” Waldron said. “Running is not his favorite thing because it affects his leg. But he loves swimming.”

For those fighting cancer, Shall offers words born from experience, not sympathy.

“They are definitely not in this fight alone,” Shall said. “I know when I was receiving treatment, there were countless individuals who would constantly be there supporting not only myself, but my family. And just knowing that there are organizations out there like Swim Across America who are actively funding these clinical trials and patient-centered programs, I hope that they are inspired to keep fighting and keep going.”

Shall’s goal remains simple: “Honestly, I just want to see how much good in the world we can do.”

Cancer didn’t quit on him. He won’t quit on others.

To register to swim, volunteer or donate, visit swimacrossamerica.org/charlotte.