OK, so I did it. Fortunately, Saturday was a lovely sunny day down in Southampton so although the water was cold, it wasn't too bad. Mum, Guy, Daniel and Tristan came to watch, along with Guy's dad and his partner so I had lots of support.

I was kitted out in my wetsuit and life jacket, along with my Parkinson's T-shirt and introduced to my rescuer - Beau. He was the veteran of the rescue team at 8 years old. Throughout the day, there were 30 brave/stupid people venturing into the water of Hythe Marina at Southampton and a team of 8 dogs took turns rescuing us. They each did 3 rescues and then rested.

I got into the boat and went a short way out from the quay. I gracefully slid into the water over the side of the boat and then the boat moved further away. Beau leapt of the boat and started paddling towards me. As he reached me, a grabbed hold of one of the handles on his harness and lay on my back while he paddled back to the boat. At this point, Beau and I were inelegantly hauled over the side of the boat and we headed back to shore where he proceeded to get everyone else wet with a big shake! I had my photo taken with him and was given my medal, and then I was done.

Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored me. As you can see, you have helped me to raise a fantastic amount for Parkinson's and it's gratefully received.

Watch this space for another event in the future! Daniel is keen to do it next year!

My mum has Parkinsons and has had it for over 20 years. Please help me to raise money for Parkinsons - enabling them to conduct further research into the causes and hopefully finding a cure.

Mum celebrates her 80th birthday later this year and really is amazing. She has times where she's immobile and literally can't move; yet other times she's fine. She never knows when she's going to be OK. She can't sit still so is always wriggling and sliding off her chair. But she still plays croquet several times a week, does her Scrabble, knits, helps look after my sons, and cooks. She's amazing.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you very much.