Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

You all know I love open water swimming. I have met some incredible brave and inspiring people and made some life long friends. A year ago I had my arm in plaster so, unable to swim, helped a special swim buddy, Ella Dunn, fund raise for her English Channel solo Cancer Research swim.  I never contemplated I would end up in a 4 person English Channel relay a year later.  I was asked to be a reserve swimmer for Pennine channel swimmers early May.  It was tough training but we had a great time and I joined them on their very successful relay swim. Two days before I went to Dover, I was asked to swim for Uswim to France.  I was very excited until I was seasick all the way to France and quite useless boat crew for my wonderful Pennine friends.  Not to be put off, I had some hypnotherapy sessions for motion sickness and some prescription sickness patches and they worked!  Some friends think I was brave taking part in a 4 person relay, my Pennine buddies thought I was brave (or mad) to get on a boat again!  Our  Uswim relay was only confirmed the day before so off down to Dover we rushed on 8th August.  It was challenging but wonderful lifetime experience.  It was also very emotional. The Uswim relay was the 3rd and final relay organised by team leader Ian Shaw.  Ian tragically lost his daughter Colette, aged 22, who was a talented swimmer, to cervical cancer in May 2011. He has organised the relays to raise funds for St Anne's Hospice who helped them through such difficult times.  Ella had swam on Ian's first relay.  Ella and her partner Llyr Hughes devastatingly lost their baby, Arthur at birth on 20th June this year.  Ella and Llyr felt so supported by the Snowdrop Unit at Wythenshawe Hospital (where I work) that they have raised over £3,000 to help other families.  Please visit their pages below.  I am proud to work for such a caring organisation and the support the Specialist staff and facilities that the Snowdrop Unit have provided to my friends and their families has been fantastic.   I cannot imagine what my friends are going through but I can support their causes by swimming. My own mum was only 33 when she died of cervical cancer and Ella had mum's name on her costume when she swam to France last year so you can imagine what an emotional journey our relay swim was.  15 hours, 45 mins after leaving Dover, Ian landed on a French beach.  We had all had 4 x 1 hour swims through some choppy seas and all got stung, several times, by jellyfish but it was amazing.  

Returning from the channel, I wanted another challenge to give me chance to promote these two charities so I have entered to swim Coniston lake (5.25 miles) on 6th September non wetsuit!  

Massive thanks to those who have already sponsored me through Ella or Ian's links below.  If you would like to support the good work of these charities, please sponsor me either on this page or on the links below.  I really do appreciate it and it will help to keep me going on my Coniston swim.  

http//www.justgiving.com/arthurhughes/

http//www.justgiving.com/Colette-Shaw1/

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