A Tipperary woman is continuing her preparations to swim the English Channel in a bid to raise awareness of Haemochromatosis.
This is Ireland’s most common genetic condition – also known as ‘iron overload’, but very few people are aware of it or the health risks if left untreated.
Anna McCarthy is from Clonmel and has haemochromatosis.
She spoke to Fran Curry on Tipp Today earlier to highlight World Haemochromatosis Awareness Week.
Anna will be undertaking the swim in early July.
“When you go over you’re never guaranteed of the weather so it will be between the 4th and the 11th of July. So I sit and I wait for good days and the sun to come out.
“At the moment I’m up to my eyeballs in it – doing about 30 kilometres a week in the sea. I’ve just finished a swimming camp where I did about 7.5 hour swim there in temperatures of 13 or 14 degrees. You qualify for it by swimming six hours under 16 degrees for the English Channel.”
