Swimming 44 miles for Diabetes UK
David Jarvis is raising money for Diabetes UK
Story
Time to lay down the gauntlet AGAIN! 😈
For those of you who have been with me for while, this is fairly normal for me. For those who haven’t, I’ve been doing charity fund raising annually for a period of time and this year is no different.
The challenge… is to swim 44 miles between 22 March and 22 June. The distance across the English Channel and back again. I’m anticipating this will take approximately 90mins-2hrs per session, totalling 35 sessions if I can hit 2km, 3 times per week for 12 weeks.
The gravity of this challenge has not escaped me, especially considering I suffered severe injuries to my right side as result of high speed cycling crashes a few years back; specifically, the injuries to my hands, back and shoulders.
This challenge is very personal to me and I’ve selected these two charities because they are very personal to me as well.
@diabetesuk is the first. My diagnosis as a #T1D put a lot in perspective for me and, as morbid as it sounds, I have to recognise the very real possibility that I won’t be here forever and also recognise the possibility that my family may need support in the future from this very charity should the worst happen; hence, I want to do my bit.
The second, a charity very dear to my heart, the Royal Signals Charity. Incredibly personal to me. Not least because of the unwavering support they’ve provided to my family and I over the years, but more recently during the build up to the invictus games.
To kick this off, I’m going to donate £207 to both pages myself for 3 reasons
2. I competed in various swimming events on 13 September last year at the invictus games in Germany and, in short, I had a very bad day. My mental health was not in a good place that specific day anyway and I took a severe hit to my confidence because of how the day went. Luckily I was able to switch focus on my primary target, which was winning the cycling time trial on the 15th September. A target I’d set myself just days after being diagnosed as a T1D in May last year. Despite achieving this goal, I have struggled to get back in the water since returning home. I’d set future goals during the summer last year for beyond the invictus games, but they have quite literally fallen to the wayside due my mental health and this is my attempt to push myself back into the game.
3. I originally applied to the invictus games in 2022 because of the struggles I was having with my mental health. There was no hint of diabetes in the beginning and when the diagnosis came half way through the build up training in May last year, my focus shifted entirely to addressing that issue. The original issues still remain. I feel it’s now time to face this challenge head on!
The 2x £207 donations I intend to make (one to each charities justgiving page) will be staggered as they’ll be going on my credit card. So I’ll make the second donation once I’ve cleared the first balance. Feel free to hold me to account on this! Any offers to assist with costs, whilst very much appreciated, they will be split in half between the two justgiving pages directly and credit will go where it’s due unless told to keep anonymous.
All I ask is for folks help in sharing this challenge and if you happen to have a couple of pounds to spare please help me by contributing to one or both of these very deserving causes.
The background and why this is so personal to me:
Time for some honesty… I have been struggling with my mental health for a long time; specifically, since 23 years ago when a colleague passed away in the early stages of my military career. There hasn’t been a day gone by I don’t think of him, the memories remain vivid despite the time passed. The experience and resulting PTSD had a significant effect on my career particularly on my confidence and ability to trust others. I’m not ashamed to admit I was not the best person to be around at times, particularly in the first half of my military career. I did turn a corner several years back, I had help and they know who they are (🙏🫡), I learned ways of mitigating the issue, charity fund raising and the physical challenges involved have played a significant part in that.
Whilst I have found writing this quite difficult. Please don’t read this as a cry for help, all I ask is for your support in sharing my story, this challenge…. And perhaps a few donations.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this 🙏😊
