Hi everyone,
Thank you for taking the time to check out mine and Matt's fundraising page. We will be swimming the 19.7km to Rottnest as a duo under the team name 'Bel Air Bathers' on 25 February and at the same time we would like to raise awareness of lung disease.
Our friend Charlotte in Denmark has suffered from lung problems for the past 10 years, since she was 20, which were mainly caused by chronical damages from the lung embolus (or pulmonary embolism) that she had in 2002 and asthma (see here for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_embolism).
Although Charlotte doesn't have a specific diagnosis like e.g. chronic obstructive plumonary disease, emphysema, or cystic fibrosis, she continues to suffer and sometimes struggles with as little as 50% lung capacity. Charlotte has and continues to lead a healthy lifestyle so why would this happen to someone so young and so healthy?
We are raising awareness about Charlotte's situation and others like her, people who also have severe lung conditions. Whatever you'd like to donate, we will be giving to the Australia Lung Foundation which continues to research work in respiratory medicine and the impact of lung disease in Australia.
We hope to swim to Rottnest in under 8 hours, wish us luck!
Matt and Ruth (The Bel Air Bathers)
Well done both!