Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am doing a sponsored 1-mile swim on 4 June (Batten Disease Awareness Day) to raise money for the Batten Disease Family Association and in memory of Jake Nelki, a lovely little boy who passed away from this disease last October, only a few days before his fifth birthday.

The BDFA supports families affected by Battens (also known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses or NCLs), a group of rare, genetic, progressive neurodegenerative metabolic diseases that occur in children and adults worldwide. Understanding of Battens is improving all the time, and work to develop new therapies is progressing well, but at present there is no cure or treatment that makes a significant impact on the progressive decline in bodily functions and inevitable early death. As well as providing families with the crucial support they need following a diagnosis of Battens, the BDFA supports professionals involved in research towards treatment and - ultimately - finding a cure.

Many people would swim a mile without batting an eyelid. But I was a slow starter due to Hereditary Multiple Exostoses (an annoying but manageable condition affecting growth of the long bones and joint mobility in childhood) and finally mastered a sort of doggy paddle at the age of 25. I've been training since February and have developed an indeterminate style which seems to involve swallowing a lot of chlorinated water. It would not get me across the Channel perhaps, but it's good enough to enable me to reach my swimming goal to raise some funds to help the BDFA carry on helping children and families.

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So please dig deep and donate now.