Well, it's not quite as it seems!

I am going to swim the distance of the Channel (22 miles) but it will be over the course of 1 year.

Our MD came to me and said we must set ourselves a challenge for 2020, and then raise as much sponsorship as we can to complete our challenge for our Companies chosen Charity - and this swim is my challenge.

I know it may seem very easy, so I would like to explain a little about why I have chosen this challenge.  I was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at the age of 3, so while i was doing all of my growing, my joints weren't developing quite as they should.  When I reached 17 the disease died out, but it left me with quite a lot of damage to most of my joints!

In 2007 I had my first hip replaced, and I was then lucky enough to have a break from any pain for a few years.  Unfortunately though, more recently, a lot of my joints decided to give up one after the other!  In the last 4 years I have had my other hip replaced, a knee replaced, and in March last year I had a shoulder replaced too; and I'm only in my early forties!  I also have the surgeons waiting in the sidelines to replace my other knee, and the other shoulder, but I like to keep the originals for as long as I can put up with them.

Because of the recovery times and physical impact of a joint replacement I have lost any fitness I had, and therefore this swim is a considerable challenge for me.

I really hope you will support this incredible unit at Southampton General Hospital, by supporting me in my Swim Challenge.