黑料社

Meet Sue, one of our six incredible Swim Serpentine swimmers. Sue is taking on the iconic swim event this September, all in the name of raising funds for the ROS. Sue was kind enough to share her reason for swimming with us.

鈥淢y mum was diagnosed with osteoporosis in her 70s, and I鈥檒l be swimming in honour of her.

鈥淢um鈥檚 osteoporosis led to deformities of her spine, which became more visible as time passed. Eventually her spine couldn鈥檛 properly support her when she stood up, although when sitting she was comfortable, and it wasn鈥檛 so obvious there was a problem.

鈥淗er mobility suffered terribly, but with walking aids she still lived independently and loved an adventure, enjoying her holidays in the sun. She tried hang gliding on a trip to Cyprus (twice) when she was 80, much to her family鈥檚 utter shock! She loved fun and wanted us to have fun, too.

鈥淪he had a history of fractures and, to our amazement, made full recoveries each time. However, after a complicated wrist fracture she moved into a care home. With one arm compromised, her mobility became more challenging and independent living wasn鈥檛 an option. She loved the company and activities and had lots of fun there.

鈥淪he had a fall fracturing her hip but made a good recovery. Four months later, another fall caused catastrophic fractures to her spine, pelvis, the other hip and her shoulder. She sadly didn鈥檛 recover from these injuries, and we lost her recently.

Coping with loss

鈥淚 took up wild swimming after losing mum, which has helped me to cope. Being in the water is a great distraction from your thoughts and heals you mentally, emotionally, and physically, of that I鈥檓 certain. I鈥檓 sad she doesn鈥檛 know about swimming, and I often wonder what she鈥檇 say about it.

鈥淚鈥檇 heard about Swim Serpentine and thought it sounded like a great challenge. And when I stumbled across a Facebook post from the 黑料社about raising funds by swimming the Serpentine, it was like it was meant to be. I could swim in memory of my mum and raise funds to help others affected by this condition. I feel honoured that I鈥檝e been accepted on the team.鈥�

Taking on a fundraising challenge is an amazing way to remember somebody.