A heroic woman from BC recently attempted to swim across the Georgia Strait to raise money for Canuck Place and in memory of her dear late cousin.
Despite a setback, she was still able to achieve what she had hoped for.
Jill Yoneda was that brave and badass BC woman we wrote about last month before her August 9 challenge.
Nearly two weeks have passed since her attempt, and she didn’t hold back when sharing the journey details with Daily Hive in an exclusive interview.
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The night before her daring feat, Yoneda barely got any sleep.
She asked herself, “How am I going to do 50 more hours [of swimming] without sleep?”
Although things didn’t go exactly as planned, saying the fundraiser was a success would be an understatement.
Complications
Courtesy of Jill Yoneda
Before getting into the water to start her journey, Yoneda’s blood pressure and heart rate were high, and she was anxious. She blamed her nerves.
So, as one does, she took a Viagra.
To be clear, the doctor who accompanied Yoneda on this journey decided to give her Sildenafil, which not only treats erectile dysfunction but is also used to treat conditions related to blood pressure for both men and women.
In Yoneda’s last swim, she developed mild pulmonary edema, so the doctor thought this could prevent that from happening again.
Thankfully, she was able to find a meditative state.
“The water was perfectly calm. It was really warm in the Saanich Inlet. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful, perfect day.”
At about the 15-hour mark, there were some complications.
“My lungs were starting to fill with fluid, and so around the eight or nine-hour mark, I started coughing a bit, and I thought, ‘Oh God, please don’t let this be the pulmonary edema.'”
Her doctor checked on her, and Yoneda got an inhaler and other medication.
Courtesy of Jill Yoneda
When Yoneda got back in the water, she couldn’t catch her breath any time she was on her tummy.
“I had to keep floating on my back to try and slow my breathing down.”
The situation made Yoneda increasingly nervous. Ultimately, her doctor decided to bring her back to a boat that travelled alongside Yoneda as a bit of a home base.
“She was absolutely amazing. She had an ultrasound machine on board and could actually see the fluid that was building in my lungs.”
She added that you could hear the fluid in her breathing.
“You could hear the rattling.”
Still a triumph
Courtesy of Jill Yoneda
Although Yoneda didn’t make it all the way, she greatly surpassed her personal fundraising goal, raising just over $72,000 so far.
“I surpassed my fundraising goal, and I kept my cousin’s memory alive. We raised way more than I could have ever expected.”
Yoneda said that The Vancouver Canucks would match that donation, but she wants to get to $75,000 so that, in total, they would’ve raised $150,000 for the charity.
This also hasn’t affected her resolve, and she wants to get back in the water.
Yoneda walks and swims away from this experience as her own harshest critic, but she’s not shying away from another daring challenge despite the risks. Slipping rib syndrome was one of the concerns going into this swim.
“I might have to see my thoracic surgeon about a rib that was bothering me again on this swim,” Yoneda said.
“Even if he has to take out six more ribs, it’s not going to stop me from getting back in the water and trying this again.”
Yoneda’s bravery captured the hearts and imaginations of all who followed her journey, ultimately allowing her to raise the funds she did for a good cause. If you want to help Yoneda meet her new goal for Canuck Place, click here.