Fundraiser hospitalised in attempt to become the first to swim the UK’s Three Biggest Lakes
Madeline Raymond, who turns 60 this year, was attempting to become the first person to swim the three largest lakes in the UK in just 24 hours, when she was rushed to hospital.
She was facing a staggering 45 miles, which is even longer than swimming the English Channel twice (42 miles in total), from Loch Awe in Scotland (24 miles), Lake Windemere (11 miles) in England and Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake, 7 miles) in Wales. to raise funds for Combat Stress, a cause close to her heart, with both her son and son-in-law in the Army and sadly a close friend took his own life due to mental health issues last year.
Unfortunately, in seriously terrible weather conditions, Maddy had been battling for 20 hours in Loch Awe when her body gave out. Severely hypothermic, confused, and with ensuing heart trouble, she was semi-conscious when the medical crew decided to fish her out of the water just two miles from the from the end of the Loch.
With Maddy delirious and largely unresponsive, she was rushed to hospital by the waiting paramedics, where she was quickly placed in a High-Dependency Unit due to suffering from hypothermia and a suspected heart attack. Thankfully the latter was later ruled out. She remained in hospital for over 3 days, before the consultant was satisfied that her vitals were normal and that she had no lasting damage.
Her boat captain, described the swim as “one of the most impressive he’d ever seen”, and that on a semi good day she would have smashed the Loch in under 12 hours, but weather and wind couldn’t have been less on her side…
Here’s what Maddy had to say about her efforts: “I am obviously disappointed but content and comfortable in the knowledge I could have done no more on the day. I must thank all the people that have supported me and given me the opportunity to get to the start as well as all those that continue to support me, reminding me what I did achieve. They are incredible people! The amount I have raised for Combat Stress far surpassed my target which is simply amazing!
“Both my son and son in law are currently serving officers in the Army and they sadly have experienced, first hand, the difficulties veterans can face when they leave the forces. Combat Stress’ work is life-changing, and even life-saving, so I wanted to do everything in my power to help them continue to be there for veterans in need.
“This is a swim I won’t forget in a hurry…”
Robert Marsh, Director of Fundraising at Combat Stress said: “We are incredibly proud of Madeline, humbled by her efforts and most importantly relieved that she has made a full recovery.
“The funds and awareness she has raised will really help us to make a difference to the lives of veterans in need of our specialist treatment and support.”
Maddy has raised nearly £4,000! If you would still like to support her please visit: Fundraiser by Madeline Raymond : A World Record attempt supporting Combat Stress: (gofundme.com)
