From the moment he first entered a pool as part of hydrotherapy treatment, Tomer Man felt at home. “He absolutely loved the water, he enjoyed every moment,” his mother, Adi, says. “Since then, the water has been an inseparable part of Tomer. His dream is to serve in the Israeli Navy.”
Today, at age 10, seven years after beating cancer, he is preparing for another significant challenge. Tomer will be one of the youngest participants in the Speedo Sea of Galilee Swim on Saturday, Sept. 19, taking part in the 1.5-kilometer course alongside thousands of other swimmers. This will be the 71st edition of the traditional event.
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Dreams of serving in the Israeli Navy. Tomer Man in the pool
(Photo: Courtesy of the photographer with permission from Israel Moshkowitz)
“Tomer was born at Sheba Medical Center, the third of three boys,” his mother Adi recalls. “When he was 1 year and 9 months old, his kindergarten teacher brought to our attention that he had started limping. We took him to orthopedic doctors who thought everything was fine, but then more pain developed in his foot.”
Eventually, Adi says, another orthopedic specialist identified a problem and sent Tomer to the emergency room, where he was admitted to the hospital.
“They began testing his legs with a million needle pricks, CT scans, X-rays, an ultrasound and an MRI, and everything came back normal. A week after he was hospitalized, one of the doctors came and asked me if he had seen a neurologist. From being an extremely active child, he became paralyzed in his lower limbs, he simply melted like butter. Then, an MRI of his brain and spine revealed an 8-centimeter tumor inside the spinal canal.”
Tomer during his hospitalization
(Photo: Courtesy of the photographer with permission from Israel Moshkowitz)
Further tests revealed that Tomer had a rare tumor known as BCOR sarcoma.
“We started with six rounds of aggressive chemotherapy,” Adi says. “Later, he underwent a stem cell transplant, and then we flew to the United States for proton radiation therapy. We returned and began follow-up care and rehabilitation.”
As part of his rehabilitation, Tomer also underwent hydrotherapy and, as noted, never left the pool. “I contacted Gili Cohen, his swimming coach at the pool in Kfar HaOranim, and he has been training with her ever since,” Adi says. “After just his sixth lesson, she suggested that he swim across the Sea of Galilee with her. She is very impressed by his abilities in the water because he has no fear at all and can dive for long periods without getting anxious.”
'Mom will definitely come with me and cheer me on from the shore'
(Photo: Courtesy of the photographer with permission from Israel Moshkowitz)
Tomer himself, a fifth-grade student at Asif School in Modi’in, is very excited about his first Sea of Galilee swim.
“This will also be the first time I swim in the Sea of Galilee,” he says. “The most I’ve swum so far is six or seven laps. Even so, I feel that I can make it across the Sea of Galilee. I swim breaststroke and I believe it will take me half an hour. Mom will definitely come with me and cheer me on from the shore. In the water, I can do anything.”