Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I have completed a sponsored swim today, Sunday 27th November at Leigh Sports Village with a small group of friends and family ranging from 5 to 61 years. Our aim for the swim was to complete 200 lengths (5km) as a team. However on the day everyone was really keen to help and after just an hour and a half we had completed 440 lengths between us all, an astonishing 11km!!!

The reason I have completed this is to raise money for Liverpool Heart and Chest hopsital where I have recently undergone open heart surgery.

I was born with a defective heart valve and had to have it corrected in July this year. This operation is usually performed by making a large incision down the front of the patient's chest, however using pioneering new surgical techniques, know as minimally invasive surgery, Liverpool has become one of three UK hospitals to offer this operation using a smaller incision located on the right side of the chest. This means that the complication risks are lower and the recovery time is only 3 weeks instead of 12!

I was only the third person to have this operation in Liverpool and was able to be back at work and caring for my two children, aged 6 and 8 years, very quickly. The long term outlook is excellent for me now and no future surgery should be required, and of course I have only a small scar which is not visible even in swimwear!!

I am wanting to raise at least £1000 for the hospital this year to allow them to purchase more equipment to be able to further this pioneering technique and allow more patients to benefit from their expertise at this outstanding hospital. The initial equipment purchased for my operation was bought using funds previously raised and I feel so strongly about giving something back to them.

Please help me to achieve this goal by sponsoring me for this event. Every penny counts and it will all add up if everyone joins together.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.