DEBRA Swim Challenge 2025
They did it…again! Find out more about Team DEBRA’s epic swim challenge. There’s also still time to sponsor them.
My wee friend Isla is 16. She’s bright, funny, full of life — and yet she lives in constant agony.
Isla has a rare skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa (EB). EB is more commonly known as butterfly skin because her skin is as fragile as a butterfly’s wings. Even a gentle touch can cause it to blister and tear. Every week, Isla endures hours of agonising dressing changes. She relies on the strongest painkillers just to get through the day.
And heartbreakingly, there’s no cure — yet.
That’s why I’ve taken on the challenge of a lifetime.
Between Wednesday 30th April and Thursday 1st May, I swam the English Channel, there and back. Because Isla needs more than our sympathy — she needs a solution.
There is hope. Promising drugs exist that could slow or stop the progression of EB. They could ease the pain, help wounds heal faster, and give people like Isla a life that’s not ruled by pain. So that these treatments can reach families, they need to be tested — and this costs money. Up to £500,000 per drug trial.
So, I’m asking you, from the bottom of my heart: will you help me?
Every donation will bring us closer to real treatments. To real relief. To a world where children and adults living with EB like Isla don’t have to wake up dreading the pain.
There is still time. Please sponsor our swim today or create your own fundraiser. How about a sponsored swim, a run, anything you like — and raise funds for life-changing EB research.
Let’s do something extraordinary for those living with this cruel condition.
Thank you,
Graeme Souness CBE
Vice President, DEBRA UK