We are Rachel Easton and Holly Warren. We will be swimming, before or after work, in the delightfully refreshing sea of our beautiful Dorset coastline. We start on October the 19th and will continue until we reach our target of 34km, the distance of the English Channel. This will not just be about cold water it will be about endurance. It will mean showing up, day after day, for at least 34 days!

We both work as nurses in the Macmillan Unit Palliative Day Center in Christchurch, Dorset. The Day Centre and Macmillan Caring Locally provide support and community for adults with advanced, progressive and incurable illness. One project we are hoping to support is the development of a Wellbeing Programme for our patients. Wellbeing is so important beacause it is about every aspect of our lives. It includes the physical, emotional, spiritual and social aspects.

Sadly the Day Centre is currently closed due to COVID which means many patients have lost that crucial connection to their peers and the community element of our service. In response we are adapting our service so that patients can get together from their homes using video conferencing. The workshops and sessions are created to give patients the skills and knowledge to be able to manage and maintain their quality of life. We aim to include sessions such as chair yoga, seated Thai Chi, relaxation techniques to unwind, breathlessness management, as well as virtual coffee mornings.

This is your chance to join in too. The more we raise the more people we can help. Funding will bring in the specialist teachers, facilitators and technical support we need to run our programme as well as contributing to other essential care that Macmillan Caring Locally provide. It will also help keep us motivated when the going gets tough on a chilly November morning!

We have both experienced the wonderful care of the Macmillan Unit and Macmillan Caring Locally, not just professionally, but also personally. They supported Rachel’s Dad and Holly’s Step Dad during their terminal illnesses. This is our chance to give something back.

To follow our adventure unfolding in the waves please follow us on Instagram.

Instagram: @hollys_journey_home   and    @rachsameast

We promise laughter, epic sunrises, sunsets and hot tea!