Despite being hit with severe health complications just days away from her attempt to swim the English Channel, Brenda Norman is still confident she can dig deep and pull through.
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The 37-year-old PE teacher from Deniliquin has been training for the past 18 months to conquer the world’s hardest swim.
Only 1,498 people have successfully swum the 40 kilometre distance from Dover, England to the shores of Calais in France – fewer than have reached the summit of Mount Everest.
Ms Norman is due to fly out on July 23 to make her attempt between August 1st and 10th.
With the charity she founded, Channel 4 Change, her swim has so far raised $50,000 for youth mental health support.
But her journey has been far from easy.
“I’ve had an absolute perfect health run until two months ago,” the former Junee High School student said.
“About eight weeks ago I was hospitalised for a chest infection which has meant that I’ve had to take several weeks off training.”
To acclimatise herself to the cold conditions in the Channel, Ms Norman has been regularly swimming in the eight degree waters of the Edward River.
But her illness has kept her out of the cold for the past three weeks.
“Taking weeks off cold water swimming at this point in my training set me back,” she said.
“Fifty per cent of those who attempt to swim the English Channel fail because of hypothermia so it’s really important for me to be ready to swim in cold water.
“As little as 10 days is long enough to lose that strength in the cold.”
Having recovered from her infection, Ms Norman faced another health obstacle when she broke her rib while training in the Edward River.
“I hit a snag under the water, and I thought I’d only bruised it,” she said.
“I kept training then I realised I’d broken a rib.”
So close to her departure, she could not afford to take any more time out of the water.
I had to just swim through the pain. It was excruciating, I’ve never experienced anything as painful in my life.
On the road to recovery from her rib injury, Ms Norman was once again hit with a resurgence of the chest infection, for which she is now taking antibiotics.
Despite all her challenges, Ms Norman feels well positioned to take on the swim, and sees the obstacles she has so far overcome as as minor compared to the challenges faced by those she is supporting.
“Deniliquin has had a fair share of tragedy from youth suicide, so this swim is about raising awareness for youth mental health,” she said.
“It’s a hard swim, but I’m healthy and I can overcome it but those who are struggling with mental health problems they face obstacles every day. So it’s not about me, it’s about raising awareness for them.”
The training now done, Ms Norman is now left counting down the days to England.
“I’m kind of at the point when I just want to get in there and get the swim over, just get on the starting line and get stuck into it.”
