PROSPECT — Terril McBride takes swimming more seriously than most.

The Prospect resident turns 67 next month. She recently placed second in her age group in the 50-yard butterfly and sixth in the 50 freestyle at the National Senior Games in Birmingham, Ala.

“I really feel like swimming is keeping me alive,” McBride said.

She says that in a literal sense.

McBride was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis — a fatal lung disease — two years ago. People generally die within five years of the diagnosis.

IPF is a disease that thickens, stiffens and scars tissue deep in the lungs over time, preventing the lungs from getting the proper amount of oxygen into the bloodstream.

“It basically suffocates you, eventually,” McBride said.

She would know. A retired nurse practitioner, McBride lost her father and a brother to the disease. She was her brother's care-giver, leading up to his death at age 65.

“Terril is very educated on IPF,” her husband, Ed Unks, said. “She wasn't going to wait around to die. She was going to live her life.

“She's got the talent and resolve to fight this.”

That's where the swimming comes in.

McBride was a stellar youth swimmer for New Castle Country Club's team. She left the sport in her adult years before getting back into it when Unks and her moved to Prospect in 2001.

My daughter-in-law (Tera Donnelly) swims competitively at the Grove City YMCA and she got me involved in the Masters swim program there when I was 60,” McBride said. “I was swimming two days a week there.”

Now she swims every day, usually at the Butler YMCA, and competes for Grove City in the Allegheny Mountain YMCA Masters League.

Unks and McBride have a condo in Florida where they spend their winters. That's where McBride qualified for the National Senior Games.

“I had to represent Florida at the Games because that's where I was when the qualifying took place,” she explained.

McBride underwent open heart surgery in 2014. She was diagnosed with IPF in 2015, then suffered a mild stroke in 2016. She stuck with swimming regardless of those interruptions.

“I did pulmonary rehab at Butler hospital after I was diagnosed with IPF and I always felt better when I exercised,” McBride said. “When I was done with the rehab, I continued to exercise.”

And she picked up her intensity in the pool.

“You need to take deep breaths when you swim,” McBride said. “It almost comes naturally to breathe that way when you're moving in the water.

“That's the best type of exercise I can give my lungs.”

Since returning to swimming, McBride set numerous records in the 60-64 age division and a few more in the 65-69 division. Many of her other times still rank among the top 10 all-time for those age divisions.

The same swimmer — Patrice Hirt — beat McBride out in the 50 butterfly at the Florida Senior Games and the National Senior Games. In the national meet, the rest of the field was at least six seconds behind them.

“That woman was amazing,” McBride said.

McBride isn't so bad herself.

“Terril owns the pool record in the 50 free at The Villages (in Florida),” Unks said. “That's a big retirement village down there.

“She's a muscular girl and she trains hard. Terril has a laid-back personality when it comes to most things. When it comes to swimming and fighting this disease, she has a bulldog personality.”

The National Senior Games take place every two years. McBride was able to drive to Birmingham for this year's event. The 2019 Games will be in Albuquerque, N.M.

“It will take some doing to get there, but I'm gonna go for it,” McBride said.

“After I had my heart surgery and noticed I was short of breath a while later, I thought my surgery had failed. Even with the family history, I never thought I had IPF. That was a horrible diagnosis.”

The disease is extremely rare as “only 130 people in the United States have it,” she added.

And she's going to keep fighting it.

“When I first got the diagnosis, I cried. I was depressed for two weeks,” McBride said. “That's not me. I'm an upbeat person.

“After a while, I was like, 'What do I have to do to beat this? What do I have to do to beat the odds?' Ultimately, this will kill me. That is inevitable.

“But I'm going to stay alive and healthy as long as I can. Swimming has meant everything to me in that regard,” McBride said.