An eight year old has conquered an epic swimming challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research in memory of her great nanny.
Isla Davis swam an incredible five miles by completing a total of 322 lengths of her local swimming pool. She certainly made a splash with her fundraising, raising four times her original target with her final total topping more than £2,000. Her challenge was inspired by her great nanny Margaret, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier this year.
Isla’s mum Freya said: “Margaret’s diagnosis came after she began experiencing brain fog. She went out to her local shop and couldn’t recognise people she normally would. She became flustered and lost, so we took her to hospital and that’s where she was told she had a brain tumour.”
Margaret’s tumour was a glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer that affects around 3,200 adults in the UK every year. Sadly, the tumour grew rapidly between scans and there was no treatment available. Margaret passed away 13 weeks after her diagnosis, on 25th August, at the age of 79.
“Margaret was desperate to see her 80th birthday – she’d booked in her party more than a year in advance. As a family, we decided that instead of cancelling it, we could create a fundraiser instead. Plans are still in the pipeline for that, but Isla was inspired to do her own challenge for Brain Tumour Research,” Freya explained.
Isla settled on a swim challenge, initially setting herself the goal of completing two miles.
“We worked out that her original distance would equate to a bit more than 100 lengths, but on her first swim, Isla completed 20 lengths so she decided to up her target to five miles. Every time we went to the pool, Isla would set herself a target of the number of laps she’d do, and every time she’d smash it. She really put her heart and soul into her fundraising, even when she had to take a break to recover from a chest infection,” Freya added.
“When she hit £2,000 raised, Isla was so proud. She’s had incredible support from everyone and we’re all so proud of her. When she started her challenge, Isla was swimming in support of her great nanny and sadly at the end, her miles were in Margaret’s memory. It’s so important to support Brain Tumour Research because we don’t want anyone else to go through what we’ve experienced as a family.”
There’s still time to support Isla’s fundraising and you can donate to her JustGiving page here.
And if you’d like to create your own fundraising event or challenge for Brain Tumour Research, we’ve just launched our brand-new Fundraise Your Way pack! Included is everything you need to plan your perfect fundraiser and maximise the funds you raise to help find a cure for brain tumours. Find out more and get your free pack.
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