"I'm still in disbelief that they're going to do this," Schulman said. "It's just a reminder of how awesome my friends are."
DeLollo, Felty, Rosenberg, and Schulman met on the Villanova University swim team in 2002. The four soon became inseparable.
"They were the poster children of Villanova swimming," coach Rick Simpson said, adding that they excelled in the pool and in the classroom.
Felty, Rosenberg, and Schulman graduated in 2006, a year after DeLollo. Schulman and Felty backpacked through Europe together that summer, and after Schulman returned to New York for work, the other three moved into a house in Manayunk.
DeLollo's interest in a channel swim was piqued when she attended a speech by paraplegic author James McGowan, who spoke of his many physical endeavors - including an attempt to swim the English Channel.
She tossed out the idea to the others, but no serious plans were made until Schulman's diagnosis.
"As soon as we heard, the idea came around again," Rosenberg said. The women thought they could swim the channel to raise money and awareness for the National MS Society.
They shared the plan with Schulman one night after a Villanova basketball game.
"I was speechless," she said. "This is such an amazing undertaking."
Schulman works at a financial consulting firm in New York. Before her diagnosis, she worked long hours and traveled frequently. She started to have balance and vision problems, and became frequently fatigued. She was hospitalized and treated with steroids.
After her diagnosis, her first round of treatment caused liver damage and flare-ups, putting her back on steroids. But a year ago, she began a new treatment, which has allowed her to work eight to 10 hours a day, go to the gym, and socialize.
Though MS prevents her from joining the relay, Schulman will ride in the boat that crosses the channel with the swimmers.
