Sophie

I'm taking part in the November Swim Challenge

I’m taking part in the November Swim Challenge to raise money for dementia. This is a charity very close to home, after caring for grandparents and sadly losing them to this disease I understand the importance of supporting charities for this disease.

If you’re interested, here’s a little bit about me:

My names Sophie, I’m 30 years old and all of my working life I have worked within the healthcare industry. I spent 6 years working as a carer specialising in dementia care, and alongside this I cared for my grandparents who both had dementia until they both sadly passed away. 

I have always been passionate about helping and caring for others, especially those with dementia as I am very familiar with this awful disease, and the impact is has on individuals, as well as their friends and family. I love helping others in my work life, I currently work in a pharmacy which I love, however if I didn’t have complex medical conditions I would still be working in care now, supporting those with dementia. 

About my health, to put it briefly I have multiple chronic conditions that affect me every single day. I have hyper mobile EDS which is a condition that causes my joints to be painful, unstable and dislocate easily. I have fibromyalgia which causes widespread chronic pain and fatigue and I also have POTS which means I get dizzy, tired and suffer brain fog all the time!! I also had an unexpected illness that caused me to have severe muscle wastage, and I was reliant on a wheelchair for a long time. It’s took years of physiotherapy and dedication to build my strength back up to where I am now! These conditions and setbacks that I have mean everyday life for me is sometimes very challenging! 

I have decided to take on this swim challenge as I know it will be a very tough challenge for me to do. I only learnt to swim this year and I am definitely not a strong swimmer!! This will be very tough for me both physically, and emotionally. But I know how proud I will be to complete it, and more importantly how proud my Nan and grandad would have been💜

I am doing this challenge in memory of my nan and grandad who I know would be so proud of me. And I am aiming to raise money for those still suffering with dementia and their family’s and loved ones who are affected by this disease. 

Any donations would be so grateful appreciated. And, well… wish me luck!! I’m gonna need it 😂