About 40 swims

Hello there, my name is Justin Missingham and my daughter Martha has eczema.

Me & Martha

Martha’s not alone – around one fifth of all children of school age have eczema in the UK and as many as one in twelve adults suffer from it. The severity of this disease (truly a ‘lack of ease’) ranges from hot, itchy skin to severe, debilitating  flare ups that draw the sufferer into seeking temporary alleviation by hypnotic scratching. This scratching doesn’t help. It leads to physical symptoms like broken skin, bleeding and scaring and psychological and emotional symptoms like poor sleep, low self-esteem and irritability.

Over the 7 years of Martha’s life I have seen my daughter suffer the whole range of symptoms first hand, and all I can say is that eczema is a horrible condition to suffer.

I have its associated atopic condition asthma. (That last alone sentence is enough to spark an attack!) and while science has given me  some magical medicines to alleviate my symptoms, people with eczema only have a limited palette of options for respite, like emollients to moisturise the skin and steroids to reduce inflammation.

People like the National Eczema Society are trying to find the causes and cures for eczema. This sponsored swim is my bit to help them in their work for everyone (Martha included) who has to suffer this condition.

So, to celebrate my 40th birthday; September 18th -  and to raise awareness for National Eczema Week;  13th – 20th September – I’m going to do;

40 outdoor swims, over
40 days, to raise
£40,000.

If you’re itching to help me, or if you just want to know the page is there,  you can sponsor me at:

www.justgiving.com/40swims

But I can’t do it alone, I’ll need your help. So, welcome to my blog. Have a look around, sponsor me, get in touch, tell your friends and get involved…

GO ON, you know you want to!

Don’t forget, that’s:

www.justgiving.com/40swims