Samantha Gannon

            Good Morning.  My name is Samantha Gannon and my coach, Kevin Tyrrell and I are representing the YNS swim team.  I’ve had the opportunity of knowing Reid Sacco for the past four years of my life.  He was an upperclassman at Lynnfield High School while I was a mere freshman.  Outside of academics, I swam with Reid for two years on the YNS swim team.  Both a teammate and a friend, Reid has forever left an impression on my life as well as all of you who sit before me.

            During my freshman and sophomore years at Lynnfield High, Reid was the equivalent to my academic advisor/guidance councilor.  He would always give me the inside scoop on the teachers, warning me if I needed to be an active participant in a class or if I could get by as the quiet, but observant spectator in the corner.  On other occasions, I would approach Reid with a general academic question, because for those who know me, I am an absolute basket case when it comes to anything related to school.  Reid would always smile, and to no surprise, would answer every single question with relative ease.  Reid had that type of brilliance about him that shone through him in everything he did, whether it was inside the classroom or out. 

            In terms of the swim team, Reid was a devoted and dedicated member of our swimming family.  My teammates and I always looked to Reid with the utmost respect, because he was a multitalented individual who managed to juggle swimming with the endless number of activities he was a part of.  In my mind, Reid never considered himself to be one of the elite swimmers on our team, but he was.  He was a very fast swimmer, but didn’t care.  On many days throughout the school year, I could often spot Reid in a large crowd of frantic students because he wore the red and blue jacket with the bold letters “YNS” on his back.  He had more passion and dedication for his swimming than most people probably realize, and he always found a way to represent himself in the best way possible.  At the tail end of Reid’s final winter season on YNS, Reid did what less than 1% of all YMCA swimmers are able to do: he qualified for the YMCA National Swimming and Diving Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Quite unexpected on Reid’s part, he qualified for Nationals at High School Sectionals in the 100 yard breaststroke.  At that moment, I think Reid finally realized the potential he had within him and why he dedicated so much of his time to swimming.  Such an achievement would often cause many swimmers to become quite smug with themselves, but not Reid.  Reid never allowed the bad swims or the good swims to get the best of him.  He always remained humble.

            I don’t think any of us can even begin to imagine what it was like to be in his shoes, what it was like to battle for his life for two years, wondering if the next day would be his last.  I know many people, including myself, would never had been able to stay as positive as Reid throughout his period of struggle.  I can remember visiting Reid the day before he had surgery on his leg.  He made a joke about how he was going to be hopping on one leg for the rest of his life and that he had forced his parents to build an extra room on the first floor.  Initially, I didn’t know how to respond to that statement.  Should I laugh or just brush the comment aside as if he had never uttered those words?  But soon I realized that everyone has his or her own method of dealing with sickness, and joking was Reid’s way.  It showed maturity and poise to joke about such a critical matter.  He was trying to make everyone comfortable with what was going on. 

            Another aspect of Reid’s character that should be recognized was his remarkable level of courage.  My coach and I can recall the day when Reid was working out at the gym about 15 hours before he was supposed to fly to Texas and meet with a highly renowned doctor.  Out of all the things Reid could have been worried about, he wanted to “buff up” those muscles.  Reid never expressed any form of fear during the times I visited with him.  In my mind, Reid saw fear as the enemy.  He could either sit back and allow the enemy to conquer him, or he could fight.  In Reid’s case, he chose to fight until the very end. 

            Another astonishing quality about Reid was that he was always more concerned about others than he was about himself, even when he was sick.  One afternoon I sent an email to Reid telling him to keep the faith and to push through every obstacle he encountered, because in the end, everything would be ok.  I’ll never forget his reply, because the very first sentence of the email read, “So you must be really excited to finally have your license, huh?”  Sentence after sentence, Reid would ask questions pertaining to my life and the YNS swim team.  Not once did he mention his physical state, except for “I’m doing fine.”  Reid always tried to keep his mind on other people even though he was going through a daily, life-altering experience.

            Reid Sacco was the type of person that could have accomplished anything in his life, and he did.  His most memorable accomplishment will be the gifts he left us; his faith, his willingness to persevere, and the dignity with which he carried himself.  I feel honored to have been his friend and to speak about him today.  Thank you, Sacco family, for allowing me to participate in the celebration of Reid’s life.  He will always be in my heart.