Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My story is a simple one. The opportunity came up to take part in a challenge for an excellent cause,and I took it! What a challenge it is! At some point in August myself and the five members of my relay team will be swimming the 22 miles of the English channel. After months of training in pools and in freezing cold water we will be setting off in the dark in the early hours of the morning with no wetsuit on and our sanity totally removed. We will swim an hour each at a time against currents and in hypothermic temperatures with jellyfish and porpoises and ferries until we reach our target in France. The journey will be long. But by the end if it we would have raised a lot of cash for an amazing charity and conquered one of the hardest challenges of our lives.

Why would I want to do this? Not just for the glory and for the love of swimming - ( jumping in a pool after fifteen years has reminded me exactly why I stopped competitive swimming ) but for the charity Aspire who do amazing things with people that have sustained spinal injury. 

Every eight hours someone is paralysed by a spinal cord injury.

Aspire is a national charity that provides practical help to people who have been paralysed by Spinal Cord Injury. A spinal injury can happen to anyone at any time, and no one is prepared for how it will change their life. Aspire exists because there is currently no cure. 

People with Spinal Cord Injury will lose muscle and sensory control and a large majority will become full time wheelchair users for the rest of their lives. Historically, the majority of spinal injuries have been sustained by those aged 21 to 30, with nearly three quarters of newly spinally injured people being male. However, Spinal Cord Injury is increasingly affecting older people now too.

Through its projects and programmes, Aspire offers practical support to the 40,000 people living with a spinal cord injury in the UK. This support allows people with spinal injury to lead fulfilled and independent lives in their homes, with their families, in their workplace and in leisure time.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.