Ambulance worker Liz Garvey braved freezing cold muddy water when she took her volunteering role with TASC The Ambulance Staff Charity to a new level.
Liz, who works as an emergency medical technician at the Welsh Ambulance Service, signed up to compete in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships at Llanwrtyd Wells in Powys, mid Wales, on Sunday 26 August in aid of TASC.
She has worked in the front line ambulance service alongside paramedics since October 1985, and recently became a TASC volunteer to help raise awareness of the charity.
Liz, aged 54, from Skewen, near Swansea, said:
“It seemed quite an easy task when I signed up for it, until you realise how cold the water is. It was absolutely persistently raining during the day and you had to get in to a ditch full of freezing cold water that was also very murky. You had to get as far along the ditch as you could but, unfortunately, I wasn’t wearing a wet-suit, just a bathing suit and a TASC t-shirt, as well as flippers and goggles. So, I only managed about two-thirds of the course, which was around 70 metres in length. It was a lot more difficult than I imagined, so I will definitely wear a wet-suit if I decide to do another one.”
Liz, who is based at Pontardawe ambulance station in Swansea, has so far raised more than £200 for TASC through the bog snorkelling event, which has been running for 33 years.
She added:
“I have been treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to work and my mental health nurse suggested that I do new things as well as lots of exercise, and so the bog snorkelling challenge incorporated both of these. At the same time, I spoke to someone from TASC during a well-being course I was attending and decided that I would raise money for such a deserving charity. I decided to become a TASC volunteer and also take on the bog snorkelling.”
To support Liz’s fundraising, please visit her Just Giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/elizabeth-garvey3
To find out more about becoming a TASC Volunteer, visit www.theasc.org.uk/become-a-volunteer/ or call Marieanne Curtis, Volunteer Coordinator, on 02477 987 922 or email volunteering@theasc.org.uk
For general information about TASC please visit www.theasc.org.uk, call 024 7798 7922, or email: enquiries@theasc.org.uk
For regular updates, follow TASC on Twitter (@TASCharity) and Facebook (@TASC The Ambulance Staff Charity).