Leanne says: “Florence took my hand and led me on her swimming journey in September 2021. One year prior, she had survived a very rare pediatric stroke and was adapting to a completely new way of life. The moment I saw her medical history alongside her age, I was in shock. How could someone so small survive something so big?! Then I met Florence and it all made sense. She is bold, brave, courageous, and resilient. She had no boundaries, her world in the water was limitless. This might be another day at work for me, but for Florence it was a world in which she could thrive, be the best and try her hand at just about anything. It was a safe space.

“Walking in that door each week with a smile on her face and a ‘can do’ attitude, she quickly progressed through the Rockhopper badges. She of course went beyond the badge skills, and learned how to forward roll, surface dive and complete a kneeling dive. These are skills ordinarily reserved for swimmers who can swim all four strokes!