Swimming 35 miles in 30 days…

Why am I raising money?

As most of my friends and family know, I lost my wonderful mum in 2013 after she suffered from 2 strokes. My mums illness came out of nowhere - she was a healthy, fit swimming teacher who taught hundreds of kids each week. My mum had her first stroke on 21st May 2013 and we lost her just 3 months later on 22nd August 2013. My life has never been the same since. To lose a parent at a young age is really difficult, but to lose your mum at the age of 23 is just horrific. She was the best person in my life - we had the greatest fun together. We never found out what caused my mum to have her strokes, which has always left me feeling a little fearful that something may have been hereditary and something would happen to me.

In June 2024 - my greatest fear became a reality when I, myself, suffered a stroke related illness. It was a normal Friday for me, I’d been to the gym and then for a swim and headed home. Out of nowhere, I had a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA, commonly known as a mini stroke). I was catapulted into a world of extreme fear and anxiety. For me, my TIA affected my sight and my ability to remember people’s names. It was extremely scary. The months that followed were filled with countless hospital appointments, scans, and tests. To date, we still don’t know what caused my TIA. I’m fortunate to have a great consultant who I’ll remain under indefinitely, and I’m on medication probably for the rest of my life.

I’m also incredibly lucky to have a fantastic support system who have been there for me when I lost my mum and again when I had the TIA. However, since I was considered a young age to have a TIA (34), I really struggled to find community or virtual support which was targeted for young people. The Stroke Association have a wonderful amount of resources and support available, so I would like to raise money to further support the efforts they make to guide and support people in the community who are affected by stroke.

What am I going to do?

On April 21st 2025, I’ll turn 35 and I have decided to swim 35 miles between my birthday and the date my mum had her first stroke - 21st May 2025.

Swimming was a huge part of my life growing up. I started club swimming at 7, and had a great run of competitive swimming through my early teens. I then followed my mum’s flip flops onto the poolside and became a lifeguard and swimming teacher. Between my mum and I, we taught 1000’s of kids to swim in South Ayrshire and I was really proud to take over some of her schedule after she passed. Even now, some of the kids we taught are still swimming at National and International level and it always makes me smile.

I’ve fallen out of love with swimming lately, and had a real mental block as the last time I trained was the day I had the TIA, so this will be a real challenge for me mentally as well as physically!

35miles equates to just over 56k which is 2,240 lengths and means I’ll need to average about 75 lengths per day. I’ll be chipping away at these when I can alongside working full time, and then clocking up more laps on the weekends.

A little about the Stroke Association:

When stroke strikes, part of your brain shuts down. And so does a part of you. Life changes instantly and recovery is tough. But the brain can adapt. Our specialist support, research and campaigning are only possible with the courage and determination of the stroke community. With more donations and support from you, we can rebuild even more lives.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my Just Giving page - dig deep for me and Jinty :) x