“I’ve seen people die painfully and lonely… that’s motivation for me."
Press release published
A church minister is set to tackle Swimathon 2017 in aid of Marie Curie, after seeing first-hand the care provided at the Penarth hospice.
Sue Fender, who has been minister at Elfed Avenue Church in the town for the past five years, will tackle a 2.5km swim as part of the nationwide swimming challenge.
Sue Fender, who has been minister at Elfed Avenue Church in the town for the past five years, will tackle a 2.5km swim as part of the nationwide swimming challenge.
The event will take place across the weekend of 7th-9th April and is extra special this year as Swimathon will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.
This year money will be raised for Marie Curie, which provides care and support for people living with a terminal illness and their families.
Rather than taking part on the official weekend, Sue will be doing her swim at Penarth Leisure Centre on 15th April – Easter Saturday.
It will be the second time Sue has taken on the challenge – the first being back in 2012, when she managed to raise £850.
“It went much better than I thought, a little thing called adrenaline kicked in,” said the mum-of-two.
“I really did enjoy it, and I’ve wanted to do it again and for various reasons not been able to. I also wanted to wait until it was in partnership with Marie Curie again.”
It was during a visit to the Cardiff and Vale Hospice in Penarth that Sue first found out about the challenge.
“There have been a number of my church members who have been cared for here (at the Penarth hospice) and their end of life care has just been absolutely amazing,” said Sue, who this year is taking part at Penarth Leisure Centre.
“It’s about giving people the best end of life care (and doing) whatever we can do to make life more comfortable.
“I am driven by that because I’ve seen people who have died painfully and lonely or not pleasantly and then I find myself wishing they could have had the opportunities that somewhere like this can give. That’s motivation enough for me.
“Everybody deserves the best.”
One of Sue’s church members cared for at the hospice was Trevor Chinn, the late husband of Barbara Chinn, who died in the January before Sue’s first swim.
“Sue’s Swimathon challenge all started in Trevor’s memory,” she said.
“I was very touched and very proud when she first told me.
“The care at the hospice was incredible. They let us stay there overnight for three nights towards the end.
“Trevor was made so comfortable at the hospice, the nurses were wonderful with him. There was nothing he asked for that he didn’t get. If he fancied something, they would get it and they were very kind to Ruth and I. They did all they could for us. It’s the most wonderful, caring place.
It was there if we needed help afterwards as well. I was fortunate that I had my church and caring was there for me, but for anyone completely on their own, it’s wonderful the support is there.
As well as fundraising for the charity, the swim is a personal challenge for Sue, who lives with Fibromyalgia – a long-term condition which causes pain over the body.
“I’ve always been a swimmer, so I knew, yes it’s something I can do,” said Sue.
“But I do have Fibromyalgia, which is a complaint in the muscles, so it’s a personal challenge as well to do it.
“I didn’t think there was much point in doing something that I could just crawl out of bed and do, so I wanted that personal challenge and that’s part of my motivation for this year as well.”
Speaking about the last time she took part, the 52-year-old said: “It was really lovely, there was such a nice, friendly atmosphere.
“The counters at the end of the lane would shout when you had done 10, and then they would tell you to stop and drink some water.
“They were all such nice, encouraging people and when you got to 90, every time you came back to where they were they would say “you’ve got eight more, six more, four more, next time you’re back you’ll be finished”.
“I was very spoilt afterwards, because a lot of my church members met in the Merrie Harrier (a pub near Penarth) and I went straight from the pool up there and had lunch.”
Sue trains twice a week and increases her lengths by two each week as part of her training.
She says getting up early in the morning is the worst part of the training – but that it gets better as the mornings get lighter.
“The best part is walking into the hospice, knowing that my small contribution of £850 – in financial terms, it seems so little - has done some little tiny something to help somebody’s end-of-life care be that little bit better. And if I ever need it, it’s here for me.”
Can you sponsor Sue? Visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/swimathon-2017-Suefenderswim
For further information about Swimathon including how to sign up visit: www.Swimathon.org.