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Graeme Sounessā€™ epic challenge to raise awareness for rare skin condition

The Scottish football legendā€™s last challenge raised Ā£1.4m.

Football legend Graeme Souness is gearing up for another epic challenge to raise money and awareness for a rare and painful skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa (EB).

Last year, himself and a team from DEBRA UK swam the 30-mile stretch between Dover and Calais, completing it in just over 12 hours and raised over Ā£1.4 million.

This year heā€™s doubling down and the team are planning to swim the Channel twice and then Graeme will join them to cycle the 85 mile journey from Dover to London.

Graeme got involved after meeting Isla Grist who suffers from a type of recessive dystrophic EB.

EB is genetic disorder which causes extreme fragility of the skin and internal mucous membranes, causing the skin to blister and tear.

Isla said thereā€™s ā€œno break from the pain or the itchā€ and it takes ā€œabout five hoursā€ to change all of her bandages.

She has had 66 operations in total.

Graeme has since become the vice president of DEBRA UK also known as the Butterfly Skin Charity.

He said his path crossed with Islaā€™s and theyā€™ve become mates, even attending her surgeries with her.

ā€œIā€™m on the receiving end of her banter all the time. She gives it to me every opportunity.ā€

ā€œThis a fight thatā€™s never-ending.

ā€œIslaā€™s fight is on a minute-by-minute, second-by-second, every minute of her waking time, she is in excruciating pain.ā€

This clip is originally from 5 Live Breakfast on July 23rd 2024.

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