Alnwick woman to swim the English Channel to raise funds for her stoma charity

In 2011, Gill Castle had a difficult childbirth which resulted in a permanent stoma, and since then, she has been raising awareness and encouraging others living with a stoma to be active and stay positive.

A stoma is a surgically created opening on the surface of the body that allows bodily fluid to pass into a pouch or ostomy bag on the outside of the body. The surgery is done to treat a range of illnesses including cancer, diverticulitis and Crohn’s disease or following a trauma to the abdomen.

In 2022 Gill set up her own charity, Chameleon Buddies, which supports women in the Northumberland and Kenya who are struggling with adapting to life after childbirth or stoma surgery.

The BBC’s coverage on her 2020 bikini swim caught the attention of Dr Debbie Matityahu, who runs a charity in Kenya called Beyond Fistula. Her charity supports women in Kenya who have stomas as a result of their fistulas and have limited medical supplies.

Dr Matityahu had asked if Gill could talk to the women, and this led her to start Chameleon Buddies, which raises money to send surplus stoma medical supplies from the NHS, which otherwise would go to landfill, to Kenya.

Gill made the decision three years ago to do the Channel challenge, which she will be completing on August 23 with the assist of the Channel Swimming Association, who will guide her across the busiest shipping route in the world. So far Gill has raised nearly £4,000.

She said: "When I signed up for this, it was very spontaneous, I had no idea what to expect, I’d never swam mover than two miles in my life, and never more than a mile in the open water so I didn’t really have a clue.”

For three years Gill has been training in strength work, keeping a positive mindset and, of course, lots of swimming for long periods of time.

"One of the things you have to do to be a soloist, is you have to swim a six hour sea swim continuously, in temperature of 15.5 degrees and less, wearing the standard kit for the channel,” Gill added.

During the swim, she can only wear a swimming costume, one silicone swimming hat, goggles and ear buds, and must not make physical contact with another person during the swim, even when taking a rest and eating.

A pilot and co pilot, as well as four crew members on a boat will be providing safety support, feeding her, updating social media, as well as having one person to maintain eye contact with at all times for further safety.

Gill expresses her gratitude for the support given, especially from Willowburn Sports and Leisure in Alnwick.

She said: “Something that potentially could have been really stressful, they’ve made much easier”.

She also thanks Carlo’s in Alnwick, who donated £150.

"Yes I do a lot of the training, but none of this is possible without a leisure centre, without support of local businesses, donating and without my friends and family,” Gill added.

To support Gill, visit her JustGiving page.