For those of you who don't know me, I'm an above knee amputee who loves swimming - it's the one time when I can feel free and there are no words to explain how good that feels!  This is the reason I have chosen to raise funds for Level Water (see below) so that disabled youngsters can also experience the freedom too!

I'm part of a six person relay team called "Team Bits Missing - 6 Swimmers, 5 Legs & 1 Goal" - we are aiming to make history and be the 1st amputee team to swim the North Channel from Donaghadee, Northern Ireland to Portpatrick, Scotland - a distance of 21.4 miles in a straight line but further when you take the tides into account!  We are all fundraising for our chosen charities and mine is Level Water.

We will each swim for 1 hour at a time in a set order until we reach Scotland! We are expecting the water temperature to be around 12° C and will probably meet some Lion's Mane jellyfish (big & scary) en-route! For this challenge we will only be permitted to wear a regular swimming costume and a single silicone or latex hat - goggles, nose clips & earplugs are allowed but definitely no neoprene!!

The first splash. The holding your breath. The echoes of laughter. The wet hair. The lifted spirits. The joy of gliding through water. The smile that lasts all day. Swimming is like nothing else. The skills you develop, the confidence you build and the joys you feel are all universal. Yet access to swimming in the UK is not. At Level Water, we use the power of swimming to improve lives for children with disabilities. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn to swim and fall in love with the water.