Diana Nyad, on 103-mile swim, struggles with shoulder pain, asthma

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad struggled through ocean swells, shoulder pain and asthma Monday as she attempted to become the first person to swim between Cuba and Florida without a shark cage, according to her team and a CNN staffer on a chase boat.
Both the swells and the 61-year-old swimmer's shoulder pain subsided somewhat and she was "swimming strongly," her team said in a post to Facebook around noon ET.
Follow Nyad on CNN's tracker
The shoulder pain was "down to an 8" following some "therapeutic healing," the message said.
The shoulder pain remained an issue around 2 p.m., about 18 hours into the swim, said CNN staffer Matt Sloane -- who is following Nyad on a chase boat -- in a tweet. She is also having "a little touch of asthma," he said. But he added that Nyad is "still going very strong."
Nyad in good spirits in 18th hour
The attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida is the second for the swimmer, who said at a news conference Sunday that she is fitter today than she was in 1978, when she first attempted the crossing but was unable to finish.
"When I walk up on those shores of Florida, I want to prove to the AARP crowd that it's not too late to go back and write that book or adopt that child," she said.
She jumped into the water at 7:45 p.m. ET on Sunday and expects to swim for roughly 60 hours. She is stopping briefly each hour to eat.
"Nobody decides the swim is over except me," Nyad's team quoted her on Twitter as saying.
Wind, water, one woman's drive
It took several months to gain permission for the swim from Cuban and U.S. authorities. Bureaucratic snags repeatedly threatened to call off the effort -- already called off in 2010 because of weather.
Nyad has been training for the event for two years, swimming up to 12 hours a day.
"I'm almost 62 years old and I'm standing here at the prime of my life," she said Sunday as she prepared to dive into the water at Havana's Marina Hemingway. "I think this is the prime. When one reaches this age, you still have a body that's strong but now you have a better mind."

A team of more than 30 people is supporting Nyad as she attempts the crossing. She has 10 handlers to advise her as she swims, ocean kayakers towing devices to repel most sharks and divers and safety officers trained to distract those that aren't turned away. A doctor is also on hand.

5 ways to get cheaper medical care

It was the worst possible news at the worst possible time. In summer 2009, photographer Joel Maus learned he might go blind if he didn't get a procedure to treat a cornea condition. But there was no way he could afford the $15,000 doctor's fee -- Maus' business had suffered during the recession and since the procedure was considered experimental, his insurance wouldn't pay for it. Maus approached his eye surgeon, Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, with an idea: In exchange for free surgery, Maus would give the doctor free photos. Boxer Wachler had bartered before with patients -- one had fixed up his 1958 Nash Metropolitan in exchange for his services, and it had worked out well. He thought about how nice it would be to have professional photos of his twin daughters' upcoming fourth birthday party. "He said yes, of course, he would do it," Maus remembers. "And I said, 'Really? Cool!'" Many Americans share Maus' predicament. In a new survey by Deloitte, three out of four consumers said the recent economic slowdown has affected their health care spending. One in four said they had skipped seeing a doctor when they were sick or injured. The Empowered Patient has these ideas for what to do when you can't afford to see the doctor. 1. Barter with your doctor Before bringing it up, think about what your doctor might value. Boxer Wachler, for example, is a car enthusiast and has youn

g children, so car services and photos worked well for him, but when a patient who is an artist offered free paintings in exchange for care, he declined. "If you can't afford care, just go for it," Boxer Wachler says. "It can't hurt to ask. The worst thing that will happen is the doctor says thanks for offering, but no thanks." 2. Pay on credit About half of Boxer Wachler's patients pay on credit -- often over 24 months with no interest. Ask your doctor if he or she has arrangements with credit companies and if not, ask if they would be willing to make them. 3. Negotiate with your doctor When Christina McMenemy's husband lost his job and health insurance, she negotiated a $40 fee for an office visit with her children's pediatrician.