P is for Perseverance…and Patsy

By Del Moon, NSGA Storyteller

Patsy Lillehei, 81
Edina, Minnesota

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. Some people face more obstacles than others, and it’s easy to give in and leave dreams and goals on the shelf. Not Patsy Lillehei.

This might have been a lifetime athlete story as evidenced by her intense effort and passion for swimming and triathlons for more than a decade. However, there were no opportunities in sports for girls in the small Kansas town Patsy was born in. Even when the family moved to Edina in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota all she could get involved with in the pre-Title IX era was lifeguard lessons. The memory of enjoying the water stayed with her as she entered adulthood, got married and took on a highly demanding career as a financial advisor. Exercise was sporadic until after she retired.

The competition bug bit Patsy in a very personal way in 2008 when her daughter, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis five years before, asked her to ride in a MS cycling fundraiser. That propelled Patsy to keep cycling and also pursue her love of swimming. She competed in her first triathlon the same year. She then discovered Senior Games and competed in her first national triathlon in 2011. She has since done many tris and joined U.S. Masters Swimming but says going to National Senior Games is her guiding star.

Patsy, who has a beaming smile and bubbly, outgoing personality, just seems to uplift others around her, and she was delighted to be one of two hometown athletes selected to carry the torch across the Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis for the Flame Arrival Ceremony of the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana.

However, underneath all the positivity has been a series of challenges. Patsy has endured the heartbreak of seeing her daughter, a former college star pitcher, lose her physical ability to multiple sclerosis, and has devoted much time to her ongoing care. Then, in 2019 more heartbreak as her son was also diagnosed with MS. To date Patsy happily says he has been able to manage the disease and remain active.

As you will read in the following edited conversation, Patsy has also had medical challenges to overcome. In fact, NSGA had a story interview planned with her in 2021, but she called to cancel and apologized because she had suffered a heart attack that day! In our recent chat, she details what kept her from attending the last two National Senior Games, but she just keeps persisting and is now in good health and won medals, many gold, in three different 2024 qualifying games. There’s no athlete that will be more excited to be in Des Moines for the 2025 Games.

Patsy Lillehei is emblematic of many other senior athletes who never give up and find ways to persevere and keep moving. Her spirit is an inspiration to all of us to pursue our own Personal Best. We’re happy to finally complete her profile. Go Patsy!

Patsy, it’s a delight to chat with you again. Your name, speech and mannerisms suggest that you are a native Minnesotan with family roots in Northern Europe.

No, there’s no Scandinavian at all in me. I married into it! [Laugh] I actually was born in Junction City, a little town in Kansas. I went to grade school in Clay Center, Kansas, and then in junior high, we moved to Minnesota.

It’s clear you have fully embraced the culture. We see you always smiling and encouraging others, and you exemplify the ‘Minnesota Nice’ spirit the state is proud of.

Oh, thank you. I will tell you that my travels in life really have been dominated by my opportunities to play in the Senior Games. And as I’ve done it, I’ve seen such beauty where I’ve been, but I always come back to Minnesota and say, ‘We got them all beat.’

Were you active in sports in your youth?

Well of course not, there was nothing to do. I enjoyed physical activity, but it was before Title IX and there was no opportunity where I lived. I came from a class of 16 in Clay Center, Kansas, and moved to Edina, Minnesota, with 450 kids. When I was in eighth grade, we were all asked to swim at the high school and see who qualified to have an opportunity to be a lifeguard. I didn’t know that I had swimming skills at that stage but I loved it.

Did you have a sport or activity as an adult?

No, I was married at 20 and became a financial advisor for over 30 years. I worked for Morgan Stanley first and then retired from Wells Fargo. I succeeded in my profession. And I took a lot of tests, a lot of tests. There was no time for exercise in my mind. They called me the janitor because I opened up the office and I closed it up at night. [Laugh]

You tell people you got active when your daughter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. How did that happen?

It was 2003 when Birgit went to Mayo Clinic and had the true MS diagnosis at the age of 35. But she discovered it much earlier when she was a fast pitch pitcher at Augsburg College. She still has three records at Augsburg that nobody has broken. So, she knew there was something wrong when the ball was hitting her in the chest and she wasn’t catching it.

She was still the warrior and was doing the annual Duluth to Minneapolis MS charity 150-mile bike rides for as long as she could. Birgit is the reason why I’m in Senior Games because she got me started doing my fitness with her. It was five years later in 2008 that she asked me to do the ride because she realized she was going too slow to keep up with her friends. She didn’t really ask us. She said, ‘Mom and Dad, I signed you up.’ [Laugh]

You’ve been Birgit’s caregiver for 30 years?

I have. I am thankfully one of the core friends and family that she allows in her care circle. And I wished she would let me do more, but, you know, she is an independent person. She says stuff like, ‘Mom, I can lift that wheelchair, you shouldn’t do that. You’re over 80.’

Incredibly, your other child has MS too.

Yes, our son Brooks was diagnosed with MS in 2018. He has a different severity of MS than Birgit. His symptoms are referred to as “invisible.” For example, one of the symptoms is numbness and tingling in his legs. He is selective about sharing his MS story and passionate about helping others afflicted with MS to live their best life.

I don’t know what Brooks’ journey is going to be like, but he’s not in a chair. He is ambulatory and getting around well. He is actually coaching downhill skiing at a private school here in the city. He did not give up one ounce when he got diagnosed. Since then, he and his wife have traversed the Grand Canyon Rim to River three times. Last October, he ran the Twin Cities Marathon then, two weeks later, ran Surf the Murph 50K. He’s over 55 now and never did those kinds of foot-powered adventures before. He’s just going to keep going!

That shows that he’s got the same resolve that you have and he’s not going to give up.

Yes, I’m proud of them. But it’s an emotional thing to see both of your kids get diagnosed with something like this.

The silver lining, if you want to call it that, is that you found a path for your own health and well-being. How did doing a charity bike ride turn into being a competitive swimmer and triathlete in Senior Games?

I have been doing the Lake Nokomis Triathlon every year starting in 2008. I hadn’t known there was such a thing as Senior Games. In 2010 it was announced that Minnesota was going to be the host for the 2015 National Senior Games. I immediately wanted to know, how can I do it? I learned it was every two years and I had to qualify every time. I went to Houston, Texas, for my first triathlon at Nationals in 2011. I did not do swimming events because I missed the qualifying.

You did both swimming and tri in 2013 in Cleveland. You stayed longer and experienced more of the event. What was your impression?

Well, that’s when I first saw all these other wonderful people that I’ve been able to reunite with from year to year. That was the biggest thing.

Then, you got a surprise when the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana came to your backyard. Because of your positive spirit you were selected to run the torch across the Mississippi River bridge to the cauldron for the Opening Ceremony.
It was cool and I felt very proud. I’d have to say it was a highlight of my life.

The Senior Games are a beacon for me. Small steps in the right direction are turning out to be the biggest steps toward a healthy life for me.

Perfect tie in to running the torch! So you returned for 2017 and 2019. For the next Games you were registered but did not make it to Fort Lauderdale. What happened?

What happened was I was ready to go. My suitcase was packed. But I got COVID. I was depressed for a little while after that.

Many athletes know that frustration of training hard and then not being able to compete. You were also registered but missed The Games in Pittsburgh in 2023. What happened then?

I actually got COVID again just before it was time to go. It was clearing up, but I was still not confident of being among a lot of people.

Wow, bad timing, but you keep on smiling. Thanks for your consideration of others, Patsy. We’re glad to see you are ‘all systems go’ to compete in Des Moines in July. But we know you’ve had more to overcome in the last three years.

Yes, I know because I actually had a story interview scheduled with you but I had a heart attack that same day. April 21, 2021. While I was swimming I didn’t feel good. I had felt weak for like three days. It turns out I had a 98% blockage in flow. They call it the widow maker. They put in two stents, and it took me a long time to understand what I can and I can’t do.

I didn’t really have a mentor that could help me and the people at the hospital where I did the physical therapy never, ever approved me to swim. I thought, this is so silly because they had me working hard on elliptical machines and treadmills and running. And I thought, ‘I don’t get this tired swimming.’ I finally just decided swimming is meditative for me. I had to start swimming again. Sometimes I even fall asleep when I’m swimming. [Laugh] So I went against their orders and started swimming.

Let me explain that doctors do their best, but they don’t always get it exactly right. And so, you know, what a lot of people miss is that you have to kind of be your own doctor and listen to your own body. Right?

Almost hate to ask if anything else has jumped in your way since then.

Well, a lens in my eye from a failed cataract surgery came loose and I couldn’t focus. So I could not wear glasses and couldn’t travel at night when I wanted to go to the pool. Seven months later, another retinal specialist took out the lens that was floating in my eye and sewed in a new lens.

Did it help?

Well, when I went to church and looked at the minister standing in the pulpit, I saw two ministers and two baptismal fonts and eight people at the baptismal font. [Laugh]

This was 2022. It took two years for the doctor to finally say, ‘Okay, I think you’ve got enough good going for you. Let’s get you some glasses.’

So, you know, at any point, you know, any one of these setbacks could have turned you away but you never gave up. What drives you?
First of all, I love it. I enjoy it. I feel good when I’m swimming, and I meet so many wonderful people that are like-minded individuals who are striving to do their best individually. I call them the kindred spirits that actually make you feel you’re in the right place right now. I always feel like I’m good enough when I’m around them.

And then another reason it’s really, really important to me is that I have to stay healthy. I want to be healthy for my daughter.

You’ve made a nice comeback and Des Moines is finally in your sights. You crushed every swimming event at your qualifying games in Iowa and Minnesota last year. You must be excited.

I just feel good about myself. I also did the masters national open water swim in Lake Stillwater, Minnesota. You were supposed to do the mile swim in an hour to do this nationally. It took me one hour and one minute. [Laugh] They were kind and gave me a third place medal. But it was beautiful, I did a one-mile open water swim this year. Wow!

Your main love is swimming, are you still going to do the triathlon?

I am certainly going to do the triathlon. Since 2008 I’ve never missed the triathlons at Lake Nokomis hosted by Lifetime or my Southdale YMCA in Edina.

Minnesota gets a lot of U.S. Masters swimming events and they help keep me going too. I do my five individual events, and then I do relays and medleys with my group called the Relaykers. We have four of us now over 80 and we have set record after record for Minnesota. Our 75+ mixed group of Relaykers swam at the 2024 Masters Spring Nationals in Indiana and accomplished second for Minnesota with our medley race.

You are obviously a strong competitor who wants to win, but clearly that is not what really motivates you the most.

I’m just going to give you a huge yes. I always say that my expectations are higher than my realizations, but I have really high expectations. So that keeps me going – it’s the carrot that keeps hanging in front of me.

And I’ll tell you, it became different for me when I turned 80. It was like a door opened and there was a light that said, ‘I’m over 80 and I can still do this.’ And I think – no, I know – that it’s inspiring for others.

I was inspired to swim with Charlotte Sanddal in Albuquerque. She was like 95 and still swam until she was 100. I want to just be there at 100 years old and inspire all others who love to swim.

Thanks and good luck, Patsy. Glad we are finally telling your story!