Swimmers dive into Haverhill pool to raise £10,000 towards cancer care for 11-year-old Isabelle Vella
An impressive sum of money was raised in just one afternoon by swimmers as they went to great lengths to help an 11-year-old girl in her battle with cancer.
Haverhill Leisure Centre was taken over on Sunday afternoon by a total of 77 swimmers who took part in the Swim for Isabelle fund-raiser.
The swimmers, aged from as young as eight and up into their sixties, with many from the same families, completed 61 miles, the equivalent to swimming from Haverhill to Canary Wharf in London.
They all did so to raise money for the care, rehabilitation and treatment of 11-year-old Isabelle Vella, who is being treated for osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer, in her right leg.
A pupil at Steeple Bumpstead Primary School, sport-loving Isabelle was diagnosed with the cancer in April and faces a long and tough road to recovery.
She is now going through chemotherapy but in August she underwent major leg-salvaging surgery - which came after an initial few weeks of chemotherapy
The surgery saw 15cm of bone and the tumour removed from Isabelle’s right femur, as well as her knee.
The section of femur that had to be removed was replaced with a prosthetic bone and a prosthetic knee was fitted.
Isabelle had been in hospital and with her doctor’s permission went to the pool with her parents Faye and Al and older brother Isaac (who swam his 1600 in an amazing time of 22 minutes – one of the fastest of the day).
She returned to the hospital towards the end of the afternoon.
Family friend, Sarah Sepanski, who helped to organise the event, said: “Abbeycroft Leisure generously gave the pool hire and lifeguards so there were no associated costs.
“Their staff were super helpful in setting up, etc.”
The event was supported by West Suffolk Swimming Club, WaldenTRI (Isabelle is a member of both) and Abbeycroft Leisure.
The total raised has broken the £10,000 mark, of which £328 came from a raffle and £209 from the sale of cakes.