Farina's story - My Splash and Dash 1-2-5 challenge: Hope in every lap

To be honest to be even writing this piece makes me do a double take as just a year ago I had no idea that Beat even existed… I mean why would I! I never imagined that the support of such a wonderful charity would even be on our radar as a family.

But now a year on, having completed the Beat 1-2-5 October challenge and buzzing from the amazing energy and positive vibes this has brought to me and my family, I just want to say thanks.

The work of Beat and the support they offer to those affected by an eating disorder is fantastic.

Just a year ago we were shocked when our daughter was suddenly admitted to the NHS services with a shock diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa.

It was a bewildering time, and we were all in shock not realising that her recent diagnosis of Coeliac Disease could affect eating patterns too.

As a family where food, cooking and eating with friends and family is the focal point of many gatherings the diagnosis hit us like a sledgehammer. Once she was diagnosed, my daughter was then admitted to hospital for a period of time to help her recovery (1 month) and then when discharged, was unable to return to school straight away. This was an overwhelming time for us all at first.

But with the amazing support of friends, family and our incredible NHS team we are starting to bounce back.

I decided to sign up to the Beat 1-2-5 October challenge as I felt this may give a positive focus to our situation and wow it really did!!

I planned that in 1 month, I would swim 2km ( 80 lengths) and also run 5km each week. So I would get my 1-2-5 in! I wanted to raise money for two charities close to our hearts, Beat and Coeliac UK.

Our daughter was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in April 2023. This auto immune disease affects the stomach if you eat even a crumb of gluten and the only treatment currently is a totally gluten free diet. This restrictive diet in turn has correlation to issues around eating / food for some which led us into the eating disorder world. But this challenge, a year on, gave me an opportunity to try and understand more about eating disorders as well as supporting Beat.

I chose the swim challenge because I only learned to swim at the tender age of 40! Even now though I swim weekly, I have butterflies and nerves before every swim session… in some ways this may be similar to the nerves our daughter experiences when she eats out since her Coeliac Disease diagnosis. The fear of getting accidentally glutenised from the food is real for her as she fears sudden stomach cramps or sickness.

Prior to the month starting, I had a plan of what activities I was going to do each week, and as I dived head first into the month, honestly every step and stroke done was so empowering as I felt happy that the fundraising could contribute to Beat. Although my daughter was not able to join in the swimming (due to her current health situation) she was certainly on board when I ran, to come and cheer me on and encourage me.

I actively and excitedly set about my fundraising plan, this included messaging friends and family and sending gentle and positive updates each week on my challenge. The encouraging updates and the sharing of my reasons for doing fundraising for Beat in particular have now amounted to a fundraising total of £1050 and almost £600 to Beat.

This fundraising has really helped with our positivity and our journey in recovery.

I had a plan to finish the challenge with a final gentle 1km walk on 1st November at our local park. With friends, immediate family and Claire and Sandie, two of the fabulous Beat fundraising team joining us, we had a brilliant final 1km walk.

Our daughter cheered us off at the beginning and then cheered us in along with some friends, at the end of the 1km.

The final icing on the cake was when she said, “Mum I am so proud of you doing this challenge” Those words just topped off an amazing month of fundraising.

A year ago Beat as a charity wasn’t something I even knew about. This last year has been enlightening in many ways. We have definitely had blips as now we realise recovery from an eating disorder is not a linear path and there will be bumps in the road. When we first got the diagnosis, there was a feeling if I’m honest, of shame and embarrassment. I felt like a failure as a mum and so guilty that I had allowed this to happen right under my nose without even knowing. Still now we are just coming to terms with it all and though we have wonderful support around us, we are still cautiously telling some people about the situation and journey we are on.

But this opportunity to fundraise for Beat and turn the experience of our family into something positive has just been the best and has given us a really positive focus with a hope for a good future as my daughter continues her recovery journey.

Thanks so much xx

Farina and family

If you feel inspired by Farina's story and want to take on your own challenge, head to our fundraising page here: Runs, Treks & Challenges.