An Anglesey woman who has just turned fifty is marking her special year with 100 consecutive swims for Wales Air Ambulance.
Frances (Fran) Spencer, is a self-confessed ‘helicopter fan’ and enjoys visiting the service’s Caernarfon base whenever she can.
She said: “I donate monthly to the lifesaving service, but I wanted to do a challenge as part of my special birthday year.”
Fran has been a member of the Moelfre Mermaids, which has around 76 members, for around three years.
The mum of three added: “Not everyone swims, some just join us for a chat and others are building themselves up to swim with us in the future.
“My two older children, find it funny that I did not like getting in the sea when they were little, because it was too cold.
“Now I am the one going in, and they say, ‘we’re not coming in’. How the tide has turned!”
Fran loves getting into the water whenever she can and says it is ‘brilliant’ that she can use her hobby to help raise money for such an amazing cause.
She continued: “You never know when you might need the service. Two people come to mind, that I know, who needed treatment at the scene then have been flown to hospital.
“We are so fortunate to have the clinicians onboard, they do such an amazing job.”
The Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care.
Fran, who cares for her mum full-time, said: “We live in such a beautiful area, and people come here on holiday to take in the scenery and be by the coast, but we are in quite a remote spot, so if anything happens it is tricky to get quickly to hospital.
“That is why it is so important to have the air ambulance clinicians, who are able to bring the emergency department to you if you have a serious accident or become critically unwell.”
Fran has set up a fundraising page and has already hit her £200 target, but ‘wants to keep going.’
She said: “All my family and friends are so generous they always support my fundraising. I’ve also got collection boxes at Anne’s Pantry, a local shop and the Kinmel Pub.”
“That is why it is so important to have the air ambulance clinicians, who are able to bring the emergency department to you if you have a serious accident or become critically unwell.”
Fran has set up a fundraising page and has already hit her £200 target, but ‘wants to keep going.’
She said: “All my family and friends are so generous they always support my fundraising. I’ve also got collection boxes at Anne’s Pantry, a local shop and the Kinmel Pub.”
The mum of three, is now three-quarters through her swimming challenge. She said: “Around ten of the mermaids join me every day for a swim. We just go whenever the tide is right, because we have a very stony beach and it’s not very nice to walk on, when the water is out.”
Fran says she ’isn’t hugely confident in the water’ but she is ‘proud’ of herself, as she recently swam to one of the buoys.
She continued: “I tend to get a bit panicky if I get too far out, it’s the thought of having to swim back – but during this challenge, I have really seen my confidence grow. I am going a bit further and further, and I can see how far I have come.”
Fran admits the challenge all started by accident. She said: “I love the energy you get when you take a cold dip, it is fantastic.
“So, I found myself doing one each day during half term in February. Then it got to 14-days, so I was like, let’s try 30 days.
“I have just kept on going, and I cannot believe that I have surpassed eighty swims and will complete my 100th on Tuesday 3 June. Who knows I might keep going.”
Elaine Orr, Regional Fundraising Manager for Wales Air Ambulance said: “A hundred swims, over three months, with no day off! That’s commitment!
“Fran and the Moelfre Mermaids have braved the February chills through to May and we are hugely grateful that they are making waves for our Charity.
“It’s fantastic that Fran has chosen to fundraise for us as she marks her special birthday year. Every pound raised makes a lifesaving difference.”
