Scott Teirney swims over 10,500 lengths for Save Samantha appeal

Scott Teirney has swum 10,528 lengths in 12 weeks for the Save Samantha appeal

Scott Teirney swam a whopping 10,528 lengths – 164.5 miles - to raise funds for the Save Samantha appeal..

To ensure he reached his target, Scott has been swimming in the mornings and evenings most days for the last 12 weeks to raise as much as possible for Samantha Smith.

Initially the Rochdale welder had a goal of completing 100 miles by breaststroke in the allotted timeframe at Oulder Hill Leisure Complex, which he completed far quicker than he thought in just seven weeks and two days.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/113979/scott-teirney-swims-100-miles-to-raise-money-for-samantha-smith

The bar was then raised as some sponsors promised to double their donations if he could swim an additional 50 miles. Scott went one further and exceeded his expectations by covering over 60 miles extra.

The father-of-one said: “12 weeks ago I decided to do a sponsored swim to help Samantha go to America for life saving surgery. Hopefully I have raised over £1,000 towards her target.

“I thought I set myself an unrealistic target at the time of swimming 100 miles in 12 weeks, but I have done an extra 64.5 miles on top of that.

“All those extra miles have been down to your support. Many friends said if I reached 150 miles then they would double their money.

“Thank you to everyone, family, friends, work mates and even people I have never met before for the sponsorship and encouragement along the way. Finally, a special thanks to Oulder Hill baths and their staff for all the support along the way, honestly, it kept me going sometimes when I just wanted to call it a day.”

Scott, who has known Samantha for about 10 years, completed a similar challenge last year at the Leisure Complex with the Aspire Challenge, by swimming the equivalent distance of the English Channel – 22 miles – in just 12 weeks.

The challenge, which aims to raise money for those paralysed by spinal injury, officially ended on 11 December with Scott ranking an impressive fifth in the UK of over 5,400 swimmers.

The Save Samantha appeal was set up earlier this year to help mother-of-two Samantha Smith from Smithy Bridge raise an urgently-needed £150,000 towards lifesaving neurosurgery.

Rochdale Online has closely followed Samantha’s journey since April, when we broke the news of her desperate race to raise £150,000 for lifesaving neurosurgery after her brain and spinal cord were being crushed under the weight of her own skull.

Following two operations in Washington with a leading surgeon over the summer, psychotherapist Samantha, 31, revealed the surgeries failed to stop her neck from dislocating, and she now requires a third operation which will further restrict her movement, estimated to cost in the region of £100,000.

This is on top of a further £50,000 to cover the costs of the most recent operation, as unlike the UK, the costs of surgery stateside means a bill of tens of thousands of dollars is racked up.

To donate, visit:

https://www.youcaring.com/samanthasmith-788861