Today’s column starts 12 months ago, really. I had been training for my biggest swim event and I got viral pneumonia, which put me in hospital for five nights. I was unable to walk up a flight of stairs, get out of bed or do anything.

I then got diagnosed with sarcoidosis in my lungs. When released from hospital, I was told that I was lucky that I was so fit when I got sick, or I would have been in for months.

It was explained that recovery would take seven months, and that, all going well, I would get back to my previous fitness levels. But I really didn’t know if I would ever do endurance events again.

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I set myself a target: to swim the Fastnet Lighthouse to Baltimore swim, 20km of open water, starting at the lighthouse, swimming past Sherkin Island, Cape Clear and into Baltimore Harbour past the beacon. I love lighthouses. They make me feel safe and Fastnet just feels special every time I see it.

It took me four months to be able to swim one length of the pool again. It was a further two months to get back to any reasonable level of fitness. It was months filled with doubt, where I wasn’t sure it would come right as my fatigue and lungs were so poor. But bit by bit, my fitness came back.

Fast forward to June, when, several sarcoidosis flare-ups later, I was back in hospital for a range of tests before I would be allowed to do the swim.

Thankfully, the cardiac MRI, stress test, breathing test, lung function test and CT scan all came back in the top 1% and I got the green light for the event.

Karl Henry at the start of the swim with

Geraldine O’Brien, who is part of his kayak support crew.

Long-distance swimming is so unique and different. It is the swimmer, the boat and two crew members, and that’s it. No crowd, no banners, no fanfare. Its isolation is one of the most enjoyable parts of the event.

The date was set for the end of July. As we jumped on the boat heading into the dark of the ocean at 4am to get to the start, all the fear and doubts about my lungs came back. I genuinely didn’t know if they would be OK.

As I got into my wetsuit, Kieran, the skipper, opened the door at the side of the boat. He asks me, ‘Am I ready?’ and in I jump. Standing on Fastnet Rock, it’s 5am, the Atlantic swirling all around me, the beacon of the lighthouse showing the way, the thrill of being able to even attempt this swim kicks in.

One stroke at a time. Trust Geraldine and Roisin, my crew, and trust the skipper. Swim. Five hours and 54 minutes later, three bananas, two Mars bars, a sports drink, electrolytes and a whole lot of effort, I came into Baltimore Harbour and on to land. This wasn’t just a swim, this was 12 months of vulnerability, hard work and learning to manage a condition. Of trusting my body and believing in myself.

Believe in yourself

This is a column of hope, really. I wanted to write it, not to celebrate myself as such, but to show you that hard things can be overcome. Everyone has something that stands in their way. We all have setbacks. We all have hard times. But maybe, just maybe, you realise that no matter how hard it is, it is worth trying to get better, trying to overcome it, trying. Not trying isn’t much fun.

Back yourself, believe in yourself, put in the work and you never know what will happen. You might just get to your lighthouse.

Next week: Reset, refocus and get back on track.

SCAN THE QR CODE: Health and wellness coach Karl Henry shares some scenes from his Fastnet swim.