THE GREAT EAST SWIM

Fellow CRPS sufferer, Sophie Etheridge, will be competing in The Great East Swim on 18 June 2016.

The Great East Swim is a 1 mile swim and for Sophie it will signify a fantastic achievement in that it will show how much she has progressed from not being able to get into the water due to the hypersensitivity of her CRPS legs to being able to swim The Great East 1 mile Swim!

This is what Sophie wanted to tell you all:

I used to be a competitive swimmer, both in the pool and open water and also a Triathlete. I took part in the Great East Swim 2 mile event in 2012 and came 10th in my age and gender group. I was then hit by a car and knocked off my bike and it resulted in causing two chronic pain conditions: Fibromyalgia and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is the most painful condition in the world and meant I was unable to walk, swim or do any other sports – my life changed forever. I am still suffering with both pain conditions and at the beginning of 2015 I was mainly wheelchair bound.

A friend, Victoria who is also a CRPS sufferer, suggested I go back to swimming because she knew it was my passion and that swimming is non weight baring. She believed it would help me to improve my range of movement and increase my confidence. My journey back to swimming has been a long one and began in May 2015 with me standing, not moving in a swimming pool for five minutes to try and desensitise my legs. After a few weeks I began trying to swim again and my stroke returned naturally, the biggest difference was that I was unable to kick my legs. It was at this time I discovered Victoria was in the process of trying to establish the UK’s first CRPS Charity – Burning Nights. It is a charity which seeks to increase the awareness of the condition to both the general public and the medical professionals, this is because the condition is incredibly complex and can change peoples lives forever.

As it was Victoria that suggested I started swimming again I wanted to help her to succeed at creating this charity. I set myself small and short term targets adding only 25m at a time to the distance I could manage to swim. Six months later I was able to swim 500meters without stopping and it was at that point I decided I wanted to enter the Great East Swim once more. I knew that the challenge of completing The Great East Swim was going to be a big one and would require a lot of hard work. I had some people say that I would not be able to swim far enough to complete any distance allowed for the swim but I ignored them and kept going. I decided that I would set myself the challenge of the 1 mile swim and would raise money for Victoria in the hope of helping Burning Nights gain their charitable status.

I still have to use my wheelchair and have many days when I am unable to swim because of my pain, this makes my progress very slow. I hope that by succeeding with this challenge it will show that chronic pain does not have to stop you doing things you love and that it encourage other chronic pain sufferers to pursue their dreams. By achieving my short term goals, hard work and with the support from friends and family I am determined to complete The Great East Swim 1 mile event 2016.

Well done Sophie on your fantastic achievement of going back to your swimming again and being able to do the 1 mile Great East Swim is certainly an achievement! Congratulations and best of Luck for 18th June at 12.30pm!

Last Updated: 18/01/2016

GOOD LUCK SOPHIE! 

The post THE GREAT EAST SWIM appeared first on .