On the 23 July 2017 Annette Harris swam round Brownsea Island, a distance of 6.5Km.
Before the date she said to us:
Brownsea Island is a National Trust property. Made famous as the starting place of the scouting movement. I am an keen open water swimmer and the distance I am hoping to cover is 6.5km which is about 4 miles.
She did it, and she did it in two hours and 20 mins! What an amazing achievement!
She swam in memory of her Aunty Sue, who passed away from Myelodysplastic Syndrome. Annette sent us a portrait of her dear aunt.
My Aunt was called Susan Beswarick. She was a zany, slightly bonkers wild child reformed. An adoring mum of three grown up children and a much loved wife, sister and aunt. She worked as a carer later in life which she loved very much.
She passed away at 59 six years ago from complications arising from MDS. We had never heard of it as a family before and from diagnosis to losing her was 18 months.
In very basic terms the body stops producing its own blood. NO IMMUNITY. NO OXYGENATION, NO CLOTTING. You have to rely on regular blood and blood product transfusions. The only cure is a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately my Aunty Sue didn't get to this stage. Her family were supported by the MDS UK Patient Support Group and I would like to raise some money in her memory as a way of expressing my love for her and to help the charity maintain that support for other sufferers.
