Swimming the World - In Memory Of Kieran Thomas Hughes

: The Penrith swimmers

The atmosphere was fantastic, everyone was feeling very positive and happy. We surprised even ourselves by focusing on our inner strength and swimming faster than we ever thought we could. The money raised will go such a long way to helping Sands help other people who have lost their own Kieran. With love and hugs and tired and sore muscles

What started as a local Rotary Club event to swim as many laps in 50 minutes for your chosen charity turned into a world-wide event. My husband and I decided to do the swimathon in memory of our son Kieran Thomas who was stillborn on the 28th June, 2006. We thought it would be a good way of raising money for our local Sands group (East Cumbria) and National Sands as a way of saying thank you for their help and support. We hoped that by raising money and awareness about Sands then we could give something back and help other parents who sadly find themselves in the same position as us. On the day of the swimathon, friends joined us in Penrith to swim an amazing 92 laps in 50 minutes. Alongside us in support our family living around the world in Penrith, London, Aberdeen, Brisbane and Canada swam as well in memory of their nephew, cousin and grandson. In all there was 17 people swimming, 5 pools and 4 nations! So lots of energy was burned on the 3rd Feb! The photos show our efforts. In the end we raised over £4,000 a massive total considering I’d set myself a target of £500. After such a tragedy I felt that we needed to do something to honour our little boy, he will never be forgotten and I feel proud that I’ve finally found the courage and strength to do something positive to honour his little but very important life. In memory of Kieran Thomas Hughes.