As some of you may already know, in June 2019 my wonderful Mumma suffered a spontaneous subarachnoid brain haemorrhage. She was thankfully treated quickly within Frimley Park’s A&E department and transferred to St. George’s for multiple surgeries and a stay in their neuro ICU. By some sort of miracle, she has since made a full physical recovery and has managed to return to full time work and ‘normal’ life. This is not the usual outcome for this size of neurological event. We count our lucky stars every day that she’s such a stubborn old boot. 

The physical recovery took some time, with plenty of pain and fatigue along the way. The emotional and cognitive recovery is ongoing. 

My Mum has always been my hero, but I feel that the strength that she has shown in the past few years is beyond normal limits! 

Headway are an amazing charity that have helped us and many other families affected by brain injury through support groups, counselling and practical guidance. 

I hope to tap into a small part of the resilience I’ve seen in my Mum by completing this challenge. 30km swum in 28 days (approximately 1.1km/43 lengths per day, every day) may not seem a lot to many, but it will be a significant challenge to me. 

Please consider donating within your means to support this great cause, and spur me on when I can’t face another hour in the chlorine!

“Our aim is to enable adults in Surrey to live well with their acquired brain injury, to be independent and to support their families. To do this we offer a range of services to help with memory, information processing, decision making, managing fatigue, understanding the brain and cognition, emotional and behavioural changes. We provide peer support opportunities and social groups to enable independence and motivation to achieve their best. We support as many people as we can back into employment or volunteering. "You are my lifeline!"