OWSwim Ballydavid to Wine Strand for Tara House MS
Donation protected
In the next few weeks I will take on a colossal challenge to complete a solo unassisted cross bay open water swim under the guidance and support of Nuala Moore, to raise much needed funds for Tara House Multiple Sclerosis.
Interview with Jennifer Zamparelli 2 FM
My name is Sioban Lowe and I live in West Kerry-this is my journey during the Lock Down of Covid 19, on how I made the best of what could have been, a really difficult time for me.
6 years ago, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Without choice in March due to Isolation- I traded the heated swimming pool of the Dingle Skellig Hotel for the freezing ocean waters of Smerwick Harbour.
Getting into the icy waters of the Atlantic for my water therapy was so difficult. With the patience and experience of Nuala Moore, this challenge has yielded great strength and now achievement.
NOW:
Over the next few weeks I will attempt to swim across Smerwick Harbour, from Ballydavid beach to Wine Strand-This is swim of over a mile in pure Open Water. As a result of my limited mobility and strength, this will be, not only one of my greatest sea swim to date, but overall my greatest challenge in the water, battling not only the cold, but also the waves and tides. I will do this solo and unassisted.
WHY:
I would love to raise much awareness and much needed funds for Tara House, MS Mid Western Regional Office for Multiple Sclerosis.
TARA HOUSE
The main objective and focus of Tara House and their staff, is to bring people after diagnosis, an understanding of the new normal of our physical limitations. It is such a scary time when we are first diagnosed and the team instil confidence and help us understand what we can achieve with their help and guidance.
They have so many programs and the staff work to point us in the right direction, to find a path, to better our outcomes.
For that reason, swimming across Smerwick harbour is a fitting tribute and a wonderful opportunity for me and my family to raise awareness and mostly to raise much needed funds for this centre. Also to thank them for their support and to inspire others that there is hope, for activity and goals.
How did I end up in the Ocean?
For the last 5 years I have been using the Skellig Hotel warm pool as water therapy sessions and swimming. Due to the COVID 19 Isolation period and lockdown, I stepped out of all activity, at the middle of Feb, needing to protect myself.
During those 3 weeks-before the country locked down, I struggled without the water and my walking became very taxed. My mobility became very limited.
"The struggle became very real"-Our mantra
I reached out to local open water swimmer, Nuala Moore. She is a marathon and Ice swimmer and cold water expert, she is one of the world's best in her field of cold water. It wad a risk and difficult to ask her but-she immediately agreed to step in and help me,
What started with a few Aquarobic sessions and some horrendous painful ice sessions-soon morphed into " you can swim across the bay"
Nuala Moore Open Water Pedia
The rest as they say is history.
Why take this huge swim on?
The water was 9/10deg when we started in March. I was unable to breathe, let alone swim.
The initial weeks when I needed to work out for an hour were very difficult for all,
I trusted Nuala and she pushed and pushed me to believe. With the help of my son Josh, who never left my side, I eased into swimming. The pain of the cold water forcing spasms was so challenging, breathing near impossible as we kept working each day.
As the weeks/months passed, we started to see huge progress and the fear slowly disappeared. Once we accepted it was possible for me to swim in open water, the decision to take on this bay crossing, with the goal of raising awareness and much needed funds for Tara House, came together.
The Challenge :
The swim across the bay is very challenging for many reasons mostly the tidal influence and the size of the water. Many strong swimmers have not completed this crossing, but we have worked so hard.
It is rarely calm in the centre. The distance will be close to a mile. This swim will take so much to complete -but I am confident that I can achieve this.
We would be delighted if you could support our efforts - and mostly raise much needed funds for MS Mid West, Limerick.
I can only swims in short stints as I need to take some breaks to prevent the spasms. Nuala will swim with me as a support but she is only there to make sure I am ok, each section she does not assist me in any way. This will be my first ocean open water swim.
Please help me, give back to Tara House, so others can also enjoy the freedom I have now-this was helped so much by spending time with Tara House.
We will be updating our progress on our training -.
Thank you so much
Sioban
"The Struggle is Real! "
Tara House Limerick.
The main function of the regional office is to act as an information point for people with MS, their families and friends, for health care professionals and for the public generally.
Our priority is to provide support and information to people at the time of their diagnosis.
The community worker also liases closely with the Health Board and other agencies in order to develop services for people with MS in the region.
Interview with Jennifer Zamparelli 2 FM
My name is Sioban Lowe and I live in West Kerry-this is my journey during the Lock Down of Covid 19, on how I made the best of what could have been, a really difficult time for me.
6 years ago, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Without choice in March due to Isolation- I traded the heated swimming pool of the Dingle Skellig Hotel for the freezing ocean waters of Smerwick Harbour.
Getting into the icy waters of the Atlantic for my water therapy was so difficult. With the patience and experience of Nuala Moore, this challenge has yielded great strength and now achievement.
NOW:
Over the next few weeks I will attempt to swim across Smerwick Harbour, from Ballydavid beach to Wine Strand-This is swim of over a mile in pure Open Water. As a result of my limited mobility and strength, this will be, not only one of my greatest sea swim to date, but overall my greatest challenge in the water, battling not only the cold, but also the waves and tides. I will do this solo and unassisted.
WHY:
I would love to raise much awareness and much needed funds for Tara House, MS Mid Western Regional Office for Multiple Sclerosis.
TARA HOUSE
The main objective and focus of Tara House and their staff, is to bring people after diagnosis, an understanding of the new normal of our physical limitations. It is such a scary time when we are first diagnosed and the team instil confidence and help us understand what we can achieve with their help and guidance.
They have so many programs and the staff work to point us in the right direction, to find a path, to better our outcomes.
For that reason, swimming across Smerwick harbour is a fitting tribute and a wonderful opportunity for me and my family to raise awareness and mostly to raise much needed funds for this centre. Also to thank them for their support and to inspire others that there is hope, for activity and goals.
How did I end up in the Ocean?
For the last 5 years I have been using the Skellig Hotel warm pool as water therapy sessions and swimming. Due to the COVID 19 Isolation period and lockdown, I stepped out of all activity, at the middle of Feb, needing to protect myself.
During those 3 weeks-before the country locked down, I struggled without the water and my walking became very taxed. My mobility became very limited.
"The struggle became very real"-Our mantra
I reached out to local open water swimmer, Nuala Moore. She is a marathon and Ice swimmer and cold water expert, she is one of the world's best in her field of cold water. It wad a risk and difficult to ask her but-she immediately agreed to step in and help me,
What started with a few Aquarobic sessions and some horrendous painful ice sessions-soon morphed into " you can swim across the bay"
Nuala Moore Open Water Pedia
The rest as they say is history.
Why take this huge swim on?
The water was 9/10deg when we started in March. I was unable to breathe, let alone swim.
The initial weeks when I needed to work out for an hour were very difficult for all,
I trusted Nuala and she pushed and pushed me to believe. With the help of my son Josh, who never left my side, I eased into swimming. The pain of the cold water forcing spasms was so challenging, breathing near impossible as we kept working each day.
As the weeks/months passed, we started to see huge progress and the fear slowly disappeared. Once we accepted it was possible for me to swim in open water, the decision to take on this bay crossing, with the goal of raising awareness and much needed funds for Tara House, came together.
The Challenge :
The swim across the bay is very challenging for many reasons mostly the tidal influence and the size of the water. Many strong swimmers have not completed this crossing, but we have worked so hard.
It is rarely calm in the centre. The distance will be close to a mile. This swim will take so much to complete -but I am confident that I can achieve this.
We would be delighted if you could support our efforts - and mostly raise much needed funds for MS Mid West, Limerick.
I can only swims in short stints as I need to take some breaks to prevent the spasms. Nuala will swim with me as a support but she is only there to make sure I am ok, each section she does not assist me in any way. This will be my first ocean open water swim.
Please help me, give back to Tara House, so others can also enjoy the freedom I have now-this was helped so much by spending time with Tara House.
We will be updating our progress on our training -.
Thank you so much
Sioban
"The Struggle is Real! "
Tara House Limerick.
The main function of the regional office is to act as an information point for people with MS, their families and friends, for health care professionals and for the public generally.
Our priority is to provide support and information to people at the time of their diagnosis.
The community worker also liases closely with the Health Board and other agencies in order to develop services for people with MS in the region.
Organizer
Nuala Moore
Organizer