I made the decision to attempt to swim across the English channel nearly 2 years ago. I have been training hard ever since and the day finally arrived on 21st of July this year when I got my opportunity to put the training into my Channel challenge. It was an exceptionally hard day to swim and tested my endurance to the limits. There were times when I could of given up but I was spurred on by thoughts of failure impacting on my ability to raise funds for my chosen charity the Lily Foundation. I was in the water for 14 hours and 12 minutes swimming from Dover to a beach called Wissant just to the west of Calais.

So if you can spare a few pounds to support the Lily Foundation that would be great - even a small donation is helpful and makes a huge difference. Here is why I support the foundation:

My personal involvement with this charity is with a delightful boy called Toby. Toby was born with mitochondrial disease and was given less than a year to live - he recently celebrated his seventh birthday which has been a miracle for his parents and family with whom I have been close friends for many years. The family has been supported by the Lily Foundation throughout this time and has been an invaluable resource to them.

The Lily Foundation was founded in Lily's memory, having lost her battle to Mitochondrial Disease at just eight months old. The charity aims to give hope, answers and support to the many other children and families that face the challenges of this disease today.

Did you know every twenty minutes a child is born who will develop Mitochondrial Disease by the age of 16! There is no cure for this disease which is for many, debilitating and life limiting.

Please stand with us and fight Mitochondrial Disease and fight for hope.