Klinger Hosting Pasta Dinner to Benefit Centennial Swim Coach

Jamie Forlini can't help but look amazed when he speaks about the way his wife, Lisa, has stood up to the brutal challenges that life has dealt her for the past three years. The Centennial Aquatic Club's (CAC) head swim coach has been fighting breast cancer since 2008, but discovered this past summer that the disease has infected other parts of her body.   

"Lisa is the most upbeat, happy person you will ever meet," said Jamie. "She is looking at it as a fight and responding to it the best way she can."

The increased severity of the cancer made Lisa unable to attend practices and meets for the swim team and forced some changes around the house that their medical insurance can't cover. 

A pasta benefit dinner has been scheduled Saturday night, 5:30-8 p.m. at , with the proceeds going to the Lisa Forlini Medical Fund. $10 tickets for adults ($5 children under 12) plus a 50/50 drawing and raffles will help pay for these costs and other medical expenses.

"The support from the community has been incredible," said Jamie, who teaches eighth grade social studies in Upper Dublin School District and is assistant coach for CAC and Tennent's swim team. "They have helped us out in so many ways."

Lisa was first diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago after finding a lump, Jamie said. She went through nine months of treatment and came out with a good bill of health.

According to Jamie, she began feeling back pain around Thanksgiving 2010, which they and the doctor chalked up to heer body readjusting its weight after the double mastectomy. Doctors prescribed muscle-relief medications and therapy until last July, when Lisa received the news that her father had passed away.

"He lived in Florida, so we had to fly down for the funeral," said Jamie. "When we got off the plane, Lisa turned to me and said, 'Something is seriously wrong.'"

When they returned home, x-rays and a trip to the oncologist revealed compound fractures in Lisa's back and that the cancer had spread to her spine, hips, fibula and tibula.

"Suddenly, all that pain made sense in hindsight," said Jamie. "There's no blame to the doctors, they were trying to treat the symptoms the best they could."

Lisa was immediately admitted to the hospital, where she spent the next 10 days getting radiation treatments. When Lisa returned home, Jamie says the she appeared to be making progress at first, then suddenly had difficulty eating and drinking. A doctor's visit showed that the cancer was now in the bone marrow.

"We switched treatments from the gene therapy radiation, to now taking four pills twice a day and IV radiation every three weeks," said Jamie.

Lisa's illness and therapy has made it extremely difficult to walk. They moved the master bedroom to the bottom floor of their split-level home and are in the process of making the rest of the house more accessible, since Lisa uses a walker and a wheelchair to get around.

While she can't go to the practices on a regular basis, Lisa does find time to take care of any administrative work for the Centennial Aquatic Club and the Tennent swim team, enjoying any opportunity to occupy her mind. Last week, she was thrilled to take a rare, non-doctor-related trip out of the house to watch her son, Ian, practice diving at La Salle, Jamie said. 

Ian Forlini, a sophomore at Tennent and the youngest of three, including his brother, Connor, a Tennent senior, and sister, Meghan, a 20-year-old La Salle University student, by the The National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association for his freshman performances and is ready to take the current season by storm.

Despite the usual distractions and weekend recreational opportunities seemingly omnipresent for Forlini and his siblings, they have shown Jamie that hey know how to prioritize their lives.

"Meghan comes to the house as much as possible," said Jamie. "And I would never expect two teenaged boys to help out as readily as Ian and Connor do. If they can't go out on a Friday night, they accept it without question or complaint."

Lisa and Jamie first met in 1986 when they both coached for a summer league swim team. They married in 1988 and when their family began growing, Jamie opted to pull back from his swim coaching duties while Lisa continued, eventually finding a home as head coach for the Centennial Aquatic Club and the Tennent High School swim team for the 1990-1991 season.