Ken Wood has come a long way since he recovered from COVID-19 last year. But his plans to thank the staff at the Oxford Hospital that cared for him were almost derailed by the Great British weather!

Twice his campaign to swim the Bristol Channel with a relay team of five other open water swimmers – Kate, Kate, Karen, Clare and Tammy – was cancelled due to stormy seas. As the open water swimming season was almost over, Ken didn’t want to put all his training to waste.

So this Septemberm Ken and his ‘Rainbow Swimmers’ team, swam 10km at Queensferry Lakes in Berinsfield in an impressive time of three hours 45 minutes.

This is no mean feat for Ken – also known as ‘The Swim Crusader’ – who needed a ventilator to breath while in the Intensive Care Unit of the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Ken told us: ‘In the five and a half months training for this, I swam over 208km. Through my participation in the CORE-19 study at the John Radcliffe, I know I lost 20 per cent of my lung function through COVID. But I have my life thanks to the NHS and there’s a lot you can do with 80 per cent lung function!’

Together with his dedicated team of swimmers, Ken’s brilliant can-do attitude has certainly proved this by raising almost £5k in sponsorship.

Thank you Ken! What an inspiration you are!

If you would like to make a difference, just like Ken, it's easy to make a donation or create your own fundraiser