Local sailor’s determination to remain positive in life.
By Gabrielle Swan
A WHITEROCK sailor has shared his positive outlook on life after almost drowning following a seizure in Strangford Lough. On Easter Monday, 24 year-old Peter Gilmore and his friends took to Strangford Lough for a charity swim raising over £1,400 for the Epilepsy Society, a key charity dedicated to supporting those with the condition and funding research into it.
The fundraising campaign is a joint effort between Peter and his sister Laura (27), who have raised a total of £6,300 for the group so far through fundraising efforts that started in October. In December, two months after starting his fundraising drive, the importance of it came home to Peter in a stark way, when he almost drowned after falling from his boat.
Peter, who was diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in September 2019, passed out and was pulled from the water limp, unresponsive and suffering from hypothermia. “I was diagnosed with epilepsy back in 2019, but the last year has been particularly tough for me. I had 15 seizures in the last 12 months,” Peter recalls. “It was frightening. When they pulled me out, I was hypothermic, my body temperature was down to 34 degrees. It was particularly frightening for my friends as when they pulled me out, my body was completely limp. They thought I was almost a goner at the time.”
Noting the little-known physical toll seizures have on his body, Peter said on many occasions, he has awoken bleeding and with fractures. “You do get tough days sometimes you might be in tears. It does take its toll on you,” Peter says. “I have had fractured bones before. It does take a toll on your body, but you just have to crack on.”
Not one to cower from adversity, Peter said the best thing to do for himself was to ‘remain positive’, finding solace in raising as much money as possible with his sister.
“I think the best thing is to be positive about it. For me, to raise money is a great way to channel that negative energy.We swam in Strangford Lough, just a few hundred metres from the area where I almost drowned,” he added. “I suppose it is making a statement, that even if you have it, it will not hold you back in life,” said the local sailor who is a member of Strangford Lough Yacht Club.”
In addition to the spring swim, Peter and Laura will also be running in the Stockholm Marathon on June 1st.
“The training is going well for the Stockholm marathon,” Peter said. “We have been going out for runs and following a training plan, as I say, it is good to turn adversity into something positive. Sometimes the best way I deal with a seizure is to go on a long run, because you feel like you are doing something positive,” Peter says. In addition to the pair’s efforts to raise funds for the vital charity, the pair were nominated for the GoCardless JustGiving Award, in the Outstanding Commitment category.
“Currently we are sitting at £6,300, and we have been nominated for JustGiving’s Outstanding Commitment award,” explained Peter.
“I am thankful for the incredible friends I have through all of this, and the support I have received in the financial sense and through the kind messages,” he added.
