Football legend, and TV pundit, Graeme Souness, is playing his part to stop the pain of EB this summer by swimming the English Channel!

Graeme, who has faced many a foe during his sporting career, will be taking on the formidable 21-mile stretch of water that lies between Dover and Calais. Although Graeme won’t be on his own (he’ll be part of a 6-person team), he’ll still need all his physical and mental strength and the support of as many people back home as possible to get him to the shores of France, in a swim that could take up to 16 hours!

The motivation for Graeme to do the swim and play his part is personal. Graeme’s good friend is Isla Grist, 14, who is living with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, Graeme explains more:

From the time I have spent with Isla and her family, I have seen first-hand the extreme pain this devastating condition causes and the daily challenges it creates for them. I wanted to do something that could make a difference to Isla’s life and to the lives of so many others living with EB and the slightly crazy idea of swimming the English Channel was suggested!

Now I’m not one to walk away from a challenge but this is all new to me; despite living by the sea for the past 16 years, I’ve never been in it, and Isla is the only reason I did. Alongside Isla’s dad, Andy, and the rest of the team, I am determined to complete the Channel crossing, to raise awareness of EB, and to raise the funds that DEBRA so desperately needs. Please support me, every pound raised gets us one step closer to a world where no one suffers with the pain of EB.

Graeme, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, will take to the water on Sunday 18th June in a swim which could take up to 16 hours. Graeme, who wore the no.11 for the majority of his playing days, aims to raise £1.1m to enable DEBRA, the butterfly skin charity, to clinically test drugs already available within the NHS that could radically improve quality of life for people living with EB.

Please sponsor Graeme and the team’s English Channel swim or find out how else you can help play your part to stop the pain of EB.

 

Donate now