U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad recently became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage.

Nyad completed her task in about 53 hours. She said she had three messages; never, ever give up, two, you're never too old to chase your dream and three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team to be a success.

Her doctor said she had been slurring her words while she was out in the water. She was on a stretcher on the beach and received an IV before she was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

It was Nyad's fifth try to complete the approximately 110-mile swim. She tried three times in 2011 and 2012. Her first attempt was in 1978. Her last try was cut short amid boat trouble, storms, unfavorable currents, and jellyfish stings that left her face puffy and swollen.

This time, she wore a full bodysuit, gloves, booties, and a mask at night, when jellyfish rise to the surface. She told her team when she was about two miles from Florida that a new silicone mask caused bruises inside her mouth, making it difficult for her to talk. According to Nyad's website, doctors traveling with Nyad were worried about her slurred speech and her breathing, but they didn't intervene.

The support team accompanying her had gear that generated a faint electrical field around her, which was intended to keep sharks away. A boat also dragged a line in the water to help keep her on course.