I found out about the Aspire Channel Swim when Lake 86 advertised it on their Facebook page. I decided to sign up because my Mum sustained a spinal injury last year, and so I have a first hand understanding of how important charities like Aspire are - during the rehab phase in hospital, the discharge process and then ongoing once the person has returned home.

I’m planning to swim 22 miles, aiming for around 2 miles per week, so it should take me about 11 weeks. I am also training for a half marathon in September, and am a regular member at Cheltenham CrossFit, so balancing my exercise calendar can be challenging (along with the rest of my life and full-time job!)

I am swimming mostly at the beautiful Lake 86, but I am also doing a few lengths at Cheltenham Lido to top up the miles. I've been swimming at Lake 86 for 4 years and try to get down there at least once a week, or more often if time allows. There's a great community feel at Lake 86 and they put on events for us, like full moon swims, which are really special.

Outdoor swimming is a lovely way to de-stress and connect with nature. It gets me away from the pressures of life and allows me to truly switch off. The added bonus is that it's a great form of exercise, so keeps me healthy too. Once you've discovered wild swimming, you won't go back. I'd love more people to discover the joy of it and also to raise money for a fantastic - and very much needed - cause at the same time.

I’ve already raised over £300. I think people have been more generous because the cause is so personal to me. So many of my friends have supported me through the last year, while I've been supporting my Mum, and so they know how much this challenge means to me. So far, I've just shared it on my Facebook page, and on CrossFit Cheltenham's members page, and people have been very generous. I’m planning on sharing my challenge with my colleagues at work and will most likely share on my LinkedIn page as well.

My Mum spent 10 months in hospital last year following her injury, including 6 months in a Spinal Injury Centre where Aspire came in to give various talks, so she is aware of the support the charity offers, if and when she needs it.  She is now home and working through all the adaptations that are needed to get back as much independence as she can. 

Having a spinal cord injury happens out of the blue and so you can't prepare for it. There are so many new skills that you need to learn, and so many things that need to be thought about and changed - the list is almost endless, and can be very confusing, both for the person with the injury and their family. Raising money for a charity that can help others going through this, and provide advice where needed, is very important as it makes people feel less alone during what is probably the most vulnerable, scary and stressful time in their lives.

I have quite good medical knowledge and knew a lot about the central nervous system before this happened, but even I have been surprised just how much there is to think about when this happens to someone. The amount of work involved just to enable someone to leave hospital and come home is vast, and can be scary, especially losing what feels like the very safe cocoon of being in hospital, with 24 hour support on hand if something should go wrong. Charities like Aspire really help to smooth the process and give confidence when it's most needed that life will be ok again, and people can not only survive, but can begin to thrive again.  

Sponsor Hilary

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