We’re all familiar with the benefits of working out and staying active. For one young cancer survivor, the gym where she works has been a big part of her recovery.
“I am a baby cyclist right now, so I have become a cyclist,” Madison Quirk said.
Sitting on a stationary bike, pedaling away at F45 Training gym in Hamden, Quirk has a lot on her mind ahead of the Closer to Free Ride on Sept. 9.
It’s her first one and the 29-year-old is riding as a survivor because just seven months ago, she was battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
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“Luckily my mom is a nurse, and I said, ‘you know, look at this lump. It looks kind of weird.’ And she said, ‘you need to look at that,’” Quirk said.
The new year started with chemotherapy and radiation at Smilow Cancer Hospital, where she says the nurses were caring, informative and supportive.
“I looked forward to seeing them despite what I was going in for,” Quirk said. “I actually kind of miss them.”
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She’s now cancer-free and in remission. But the whole time she was in treatment, there was one place she turned to for strength.
“People would tell me I was crazy to work and to teach group fitness through chemo. Which, they might have been right to an extent, but everyone just filled me up with energy when I was here,” Quirk said.
The team at F45 Training rallied around her, forming a Closer to Free Ride team.
“So, immediately when I heard that 100% of what we’re raising is going directly to the hospital that just saved my life, I was like yeah, I’m on board," Quirk said.
Owner Tony Molina joined them and offered three fundraising classes that have gone a long way toward the team’s fundraising goals.
“Within our own community, I knew that this was a chance for us to do something positive to support her especially in the moment that she was in,” Molina said.
Quirk doesn’t really know what to expect on this first ride, but she says the whole day will be filled with so many emotions - especially the Smilow Salute.
“Not only am I going to feel the experiences of ‘I was just in Smilow, I was a patient just a few months ago,’ but to know that people are cheering us on when I know what they’re going through. When I know that they’re doing the hard work right now,” Quirk said.
And that is what she’s carrying with her from training through ride day.
“I think it’s just going to be emotional on a lot of different levels but in a really, really good and meaningful way," she said.
