Taking the plunge for Charity

Over 35 swimmers participated in a unique challenge at the Arundel Lido on April 16th to raise funds for Keep Me Breathing, a newly established research charity supporting children who experience breathing difficulties while asleep. The swimmers completed an impressive total of 2,500 lengths in just over two hours, with the youngest swimmer being only nine years old and the eldest over 80. Some swimmers achieved personal bests of over 200 lengths.

The event, organised by Eloise Kent and Steph Roberts, was a fun-filled afternoon supported by the local community, including The Red Lion pub, which ran the bar, and Chirpy Chicken, which served delicious chicken burgers. DJ Tony provided music, and Frank Regester sang in support of the swimmers. Friends and family of the children affected by the condition also joined in the swim, and volunteered to run the raffle, games, swimmer registration, and refreshments.

The event received an overwhelming response, with generous donations from sponsors and on-the-day contributors, including prizes such as Brighton & Hove Albion football tickets and a family photo shoot worth £300. The total amount raised was approximately £6,000, with over half of that sum coming from swimmer sponsorship alone.

During the event, 3 local CCHS families attender. Vicky, Tiger-Lily’s mother, gave a heartfelt speech about her daughter’s life-threatening condition, which often results in her requiring care and attention at The Royal Alexandra HDU due to common colds. Eloise, Beau’s mother, spoke about his secondary condition, Hirschsprung’s bowel disease, and the daily challenges it presents. Finally, Steph, Casper’s mother, shared details about his pre-diagnosis journey, which started with childhood cancer and ended with a late CCHS diagnosis.

Eloise Kent comments further;  “ Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS) is an extremely rare genetic condition which causes children like Beau to stop breathing the moment they fall asleep. Being born with CCHS is devastating. No cure. No therapeutic options are available while your child is asleep beyond artificial life support. Painfully… the technology to treat CCHS exists, but the investment does not. We are addressing the urgent need to help and save the lives of children diagnosed with CCHS. We are building The Breathing Pacemaker with Cambridge University to help the hundreds of children in the UK with CCHS breathe on their own at night without artificial life support. Please support us. We are a newly formed impact charity based in Brighton. 100% of the donations go directly towards developing The Breathing Pacemaker. The Technology Exists. The investment does not… yet. We’re changing that. I am so proud of the Arundel community and how friends came to support and see what we as parents face every day.”