Chillswim Windermere 2023 - Saturday 2 September

Hi, those of you who know me, will be aware that in the past I have completed a number of events, with each one bringing its own significant challenge to overcome. However, this time, I wanted to do something that would really test and put me outside my comfort zone, and in doing so, putting me in a position that I'm not used to. Challenging myself physically but more importantly pushing my personal resilience and mental strength, which is what these children have to do every day.

To do this, I will be attempting to swim the longest lake in England to raise money for the fantastic ROSY charity.

This involves swimming 11 miles, non stop, end to end of Lake Windermere! (And yes to make it that little bit harder....without a wetsuit) The swim will start at Fell Foot at the Southern end of the lake and after 11 miles, finishes at Waterhead, at the Northern end.

This is an amazing local charity that although small, makes a huge difference to so many families. Your donations and support in raising some funds would be greatly appreciated by all involved 😊 Please read below for further details on ROSY.

Thank you in advance, Mike

Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire’s Sick Youngsters

Welcome to ROSY (Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire’s Sick Youngsters.) We fund additional respite nursing care at home for children with chronic, life-limiting or terminal illnesses in Oxfordshire. We also provide equipment for sick children which can improve their day-to-day lives, and a counseling service for families who are affected by having a child who is suffering from an illness requiring respite care.

Currently we fund 11 respite nurses and HCAs (Health Care Assistants) in Oxfordshire, to do the equivalent of 7 full time jobs in respite care for our ROSY families.

While we think it’s best for children with terminal or complex illness to be cared for at home, around familiar things like siblings, family and pets, it places a huge burden of care on their families, who are left to care for a child with very complex medical needs, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Until ROSY was founded in 2002 there was very limited provision of respite nursing in the home, for parents with profoundly sick children. ROSY was set up by Craig Milner, his sister Bev Wilson, one of the two part time respite nurses who were struggling to cope with the respite nursing needs of Oxfordshire families. Children were well looked after in hospital but parents were very much on their own once the child was discharged, despite requiring 24 hour care.

All our respite nurses are chosen, trained and allocated by the NHS, which allows us to concentrate on raising the money to pay their salaries. There are no overheads, and most who work for ROSY, do so voluntarily. Which means that every penny raised goes towards paying for nursing care, equipment for the children, creating opportunities to bring our families together and making life easier for the ROSY families.