Thank you for taking the time to visit my page. I have taken on the challenge of a solo swim across the 21miles from Dover to France in August 2018 to fund a new development for making 3D reconstructions of baby hearts to help plan and carry out heart surgery for the children of the South West and further afield.
Having worked as a consultant at the Bristol Children's Hospital for over 20 years looking after children with cardiac disease, I wanted to facilitate the availability of this new cutting-edge technology which can help the cardiac team, carers and children with heart problems. Making high fidelity 3D copies of paediatric hearts will enable the cardiac team to plan and prepare for the surgeries and even practice the procedures before carrying out the surgery. It also enables the team to explain and show in detail to parents and children what the problem is and how it can be fixed. This cutting-edge technique will be one of the first facilities of its kind in the UK. We hope it can also be developed to help in surgeries with other non-cardiac problems.
I have been a swimmer since I was young and last year successfully completed a relay across the English Channel in September with my colleagues to raise money for the Bristol Royal Children's Hospital. A Channel swim according to the official rules is done without a wetsuit and so required our team to cope with cold water, darkness, seasickness, jellyfish and choppy seas. I had to swim for 3 hours last year, but this time around I expect to be in the sea for over 12 hours stopping only to refuel without touching the pilot boat. Taking on this challenge is daunting: more people have stood on top of Everest than have swum the Channel. I have put many hours of training in over the winter including cold swims in Clevedon Marine lake in zero degrees water temperature and just a pair of speedos! On the day, I will be supported by a well trained team on the boat from the children hospital, who will keep me mentally focussed and fuelled to undertake this gruelling challenge.
All of this is being done to raise money for this novel technology for children with heart diseases and associated conditions. So, any support no matter how big or small would be gratefully received and will edge me closer to reaching my target to set up a sustainable cardiac reconstruction facility for the children of the South West and beyond.
To make a donation, just click on the donate button and follow the instructions. You can also donate by mobile phone: simply text 70070 and make a donation by texting "SOLO57£5" or more.
THANK YOU!
