Less than three months after breaking her back in an accident on the other side of the world, a Newbury woman has swum 5km for charity, writes Grace Clift.
Bella Hart has so far raised $1,500 for Doctors without Borders, or Medecins sans Frontieres as it is also known, as her way of thanking those who gave her such great care.
The 23-year-old was jumping into the sea in Australia on March 11 when she broke her spine on impact.
Now, less than three months after the accident and with pins and plates still in her back, she completed the 5k swimming challenge at a Newbury pool on Tuesday.
She told the Newbury Weekly News after she finished the swim: “I just felt that I was so lucky to receive healthcare even abroad, when so many people go through so much worse in war or occupied zones without that, so I wanted to raise money to help if I could.”
Ms Hart had taken a year off to travel and volunteer on conservation projects, after completing her degree in psychology at Newcastle University.
She said she has always been very sporty and didn’t want to miss the opportunity for wild swimming in Australia.
But as she jumped in, the angle in which she landed broke her spine. Incredibly, she was able to swim to the water’s edge, despite the terrible pain, and was taken to shore by a nearby local fishing boat.
Travel insurance did not cover Ms Hart’s medical care due to sea jumping not being an organised sport, but Australia’s reciprocal agreement with the UK NHS meant she was still able to get the best care.
She underwent an operation to stabilise the break in her back and was able to travel home several weeks later.
Doctors without Borders is a French-origin charity that provides humanitarian medical care in countries where there are conflicts and endemic diseases, saving lives across the world.
Ms Hart has been told she can do only gentle exercise for the next year, and came up with the idea to link her recovery with a fundraising project.
She said she hopes to raise as much money as possible for those unable to benefit from the fantastic support of the NHS, and has so far had to raise her fundraising goal three times, with a current total of $1,560.
You can help support Ms Hart’s cause via her fundraising link here – where a donation of $20 is enough to provide 90 emergency food rations for use during a crisis.
