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Simon Graham

November Swimming Challenge 2025

Help Simon raise £500!

My Activity Tracking

30
kms

My target 30 kms

I’m swimming in November for families facing baby loss

I’ve committed to swimming this November for every much-loved baby sadly not here today.

Sands ensure that everyone affected by the loss of a baby gets the support they need and deserve when facing the toughest of times. They campaign for change, provide training for midwives and healthcare professionals, and support research so that fewer babies die and so that less families experience the tragedy of losing their baby. Anything you are able to donate means so much.

Thank you.

Please Help Me
Reach My Goal

Raised

£637 + £62.83 GiftAid

My Goal

£500

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My Achievements

Updated Profile Picture

Donated to myself

Shared page

Received First Donation

First swim logged

Received 10 donations

Increased Fundraising Target

Completed it!

My Updates

Grateful

Friday 31st Oct
The first thing I want to say is thank you, to everyone who has or who will donate to this cause, Sands do really amazing work helping people during the darkest time of their lives.

Losing a child is the most difficult experience anyone can face in their lives, the emptiness and sense of isolation can be unbearable and inevitably leaves you with so many unanswered questions, but I suppose why us? is the greatest one of all. Unfairly you compare who you are to others around you asking why do people we feel are less deserving get to have what we desire most? Grief takes you to dark places but ultimately there are no answers other than to say life just isn’t always fair. Sands helped us when we were in our darkest place, and with their help we were able to keep moving forward. 

We lost our little boy Abel in 2021 and I found myself asking all these questions and more, the anger and pain can be blinding, but in time these emotions do fade and then it’s about finding a path forward.  It won’t be the path you once envisioned,
It can’t be, the person you were has been fundamentally changed and that’s okay, you can be happy again. 

There’s a quote that says:
“Man cannot discover new lands unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore”

Having the courage to move forward lead us to where we are now, and 4 years later we are the proud adoptive parents of a beautiful 1 year old boy Pearce. 
Without losing Abel perhaps we would never have gone down this path, which has been the greatest and most rewarding experience of our lives.

Pearce is my son as much as Abel was my son and the love I feel for him is exactly the same.  

There is one thing though, and it’s ultimately the point of this post. After all that we went through, the grief, the loss, the anger, i have discovered I’m grateful. 

I’m grateful for every second I get to be a father, even at 3am when I’ve to get up at 6 and he won’t sleep.  I'm grateful I’ve learned the value of love and those in my life who love me. I’m grateful to be the man I’ve become, and I’m grateful that I can keep moving forward. Resilience is a superpower.
 
This challenge is in memory of our son Abel who was born sleeping but it is inspired by our son Pearce who has shown us our purpose in life.



Thank you to my Sponsors

£100

Thomas Graham

£53.32

Arlene Ellis

£53.32

Joanne Christian

£53.32

Patrick Lutton

£32.23

Jamie Mitchell

£32.23

Megan Thompson

£31.51

Gavin Graham

£27.05

Craig Gailey

£27.05

Rosie Hanley

£25

Jaclyn Millar

Good luck with the rest of your challenge.

£25

Gareth Lutton

💪🏼 💪🏼 💪🏼

£21.84

Anna & Claire

💙

£21.84

Darren Hull

£21.84

Tina

Good luck Simon.

£20

Gemma Cormack

Good luck for the challenge Simon! Gemma x

£20

Dana Henderson

£16.56

Alice Shannon

£11.33

Hilary Montgomery

£11.33

Elizabeth Moreland

💙💙💙

£11.33

Lucy Kelly

Good luck, from me and Liam

£11.09

Robert Jones

£10

Mandy Ellis