Two local nurses from our vaccination team have swum the equivalent of the English Channel to raise funds to help a colleague who suffered a rare spinal stroke.
Emma Downey and Michelle Messer completed the 21 mile challenge over a month by swimming 1344 lengths of the 25-metre pool at The Peak leisure centre in Stirling.
Their colleague Julia Bradford remains in hospital ever since she became severely unwell at Edinburgh Airport in July 2024 as she waited to board a flight with her family. She was rushed by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and is currently undergoing rehabilitation in the Spinal Injuries Unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
The devastating impact of the spinal stroke has meant that Julia has remained in hospital for treatment, so her colleagues took on the swimming challenge to support her ongoing recovery and rehabilitation.
Emma said: “Tragically, Julia was instantly paralysed and her only wish is to be able to walk again and be able to move her hands to allow her to be a mother to her three amazing young children, all of whom are under the age of eight.
“We decided to do this charity swim to provide additional support to help Julia return home to her family as soon as possible.”
Emma continued: “Michelle and I are keen swimmers. People at work had been discussing of ways to fundraise for Julia and several had mentioned a 10k run – something which both myself and Michelle are pretty rubbish at. Michelle came up with the idea of a charity swim and the idea of swimming the equivalent of the English Channel was mentioned.
“Michelle had been inspired by a lady who had done this at The Peak when she was there one day. From there, we got our heads together and we started the fundraising challenge.
“Even on the days when we were swimming 130 lengths, it can be tough, but it’s nothing in comparison to what our Julia is having to go through.”
To find out more and donate visit Emma and Michelle’s Go Fund Me page.
