My friend and fellow Rutland Canoe Club paddler, Andy Sutton, is attempting to become the first disabled paddler to complete the 3 Lakes Challenge. I thought I'd give him something else to worry about by doing it with him.

The [3]LAKES challenge is a ‘Go-Canoeing’ initiative which has become a renowned test of endurance and stamina, only to be undertaken by experienced, competent paddlers. The task is to paddle the three longest lakes in Scotland, Wales and England (Loch Awe, Lake Windermere and Llyn Tegid (Bala)) in the quickest time possible. On 16th and 17th June we aim to complete the 24 hours of paddling in 48 hours.

In 2002 Andy was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord tumour, which is wrapped around the spinal cord in the lower back. It is now inoperable because of the highly vascular nature of the tumour, resistant to radiotherapy and it will not respond to chemotherapy. With that comes the prospect of becoming quadriplegic or having to sacrifice the lower spinal cord to save upper body function.

The aim is to raise funds to produce a film to document the journey and donate a proportion to the Queens Medical Hospital, funding a MRI unit in the children’s department. You can read more on his website, Broken Body of Water, or look it up on Facebook. If you'd rather donate straight to Andy's Just Giving Page, that's great. Thanks for your support.