Candlewood Lake!

The Continuing Reason to Swim for Epilepsy

I remember the day when my daughter, Kate, who is twenty three years old and has been suffering with Epilepsy since she was nine, asked me why I was not raising money for Epilepsy, for her and her disease. It was clear that I had been selfish in remembering my past rather than trying to improve my daughter’s future.

This is my 15th swim for charity. This year, as in the last seven, my family and I dedicate this swim to finding a cure or solution that will give Kate the freedom to go where she wants to go, when she wants to go and by any means of her choosing.

In the early spring of this year, we all came down with a bad cold/flu and cough. It was difficult to breathe, and I was out of the water for more than 10 days. During that time, Kate came down with the same symptoms and was prescribed Amoxicillin to help her get better. During that period, Kate did not have a single seizure. Kate, her family and her doctors all thought that it was a curious phenomenon and very interesting.

A few weeks later and still not feeling much better, Kate was diagnosed with Lyme’s Disease. It doesn’t really seem fair for a person who cannot take a walk in the woods unless she is accompanied by someone for fear of having a seizure and falling, to get Lyme’s disease. We thought she became ill because one of our cats brought a tick into the house and the tick found her. She was on heavier doses of amoxicillin for another 2 to 3 weeks. Again, during this period, her seizure activity dropped to zero. This was the longest period of being seizure free since her puberty.

We do not know if we can put her back on amoxicillin as it does compromise her immune system to some extent. However, if the interaction of this drug with her others gives her long stretches of seizure free time, we would be willing to take the risk. This Fall, we hope to try the drug again to see if we can improve her life, if only for a short period of time. We had a chance finding of a potentially beneficial regimen, but a cure for epilepsy shouldn’t be left to chance. It is only with continued extensive research that we will help epilepsy patients improve their quality of life. So, I keep swimming.

This summer I have been working on the east coast, and therefore my focus on finding a venue for this year's fundraising swim is in the east. I thought of many places to swim, including another attempt at swimming Cape Cod Bay, with the wind this time. However, when looking at a map, the idea of swimming from Nantucket to Martha’s Vineyard intrigued me. I know it has been done several times, but I do not believe a “two-way” was ever completed. A good friend of mine, Liz Fry, was attempting a two-way swim of the English Channel. While she was in her epic swim, I decided I would attempt a Vineyard-Nantucket 2-way event.

After much soul searching, we have decided to move the venue out of the salt waters in and near the Atlantic Ocean and instead swim in Candlewood Lake.

As you know, I love history, so here is some history of the lake:

Candlewood Lake, 8.4 sq mi (21.8 km²), is located in Western Connecticut. It is formed behind a power dam south of the Rocky River's junction with the Housatonic River. Along its 86-mi (106 km) shoreline are five-star tourist resorts and recreational facilities such as golf courses, beaches, and marinas. The lake is used year round although tourists primarily come during the summer months for fishing, boating or golfing. The lake is bordered by 5 towns: Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, and Sherman.

Candlewood Lake is the largest lake in Connecticut, and one of the largest man-made lakes in the USA. Like a giant battery, its main purpose is to store water during periods of low electrical demand for power generation when demand is high. Utilizing excess electricity from the valley's hydro-system, water is pumped up a hillside into the lake from the nearby Housatonic River during the Spring and overnight hours in Summer, then allowed to flow back down into the river when extra electricity is needed in the grid, often during the region's intense mid-to-late summer heat waves. Power is generated by turbines that are spun by the water flowing into the river while pumping is done by reversing the impellers.

Candlewood Lake was created in the 1920s. Inhabitants were relocated elsewhere, but many of the buildings were left standing and some farming equipment was left behind. The roads were not torn up before the valley was flooded. Scuba divers can investigate buildings from that era, following the roads underwater, and discover artifacts from that era onwards. Some of the notable underwater finds are model Ts, plane wreckage from small craft that have hit the lake since then, and covered bridges from that era.

I will be leaving from a friend's house at around 6:00 AM. We will swim south to one end of the lake, then swim north to the far end, and then back to the starting point. The lake is about 10 miles long, so we are looking at a round trip of about 20 to 21 miles. There is no current, but we will have to worry about winds. We hope to finish before it gets dark again.

Please come down to join us during the day and come back to our house for some burgers, hot dogs and drinks. Just let us know if you are coming as late as Friday, and we will get you directions.

While not as long as a two-way English Channel swim, it is longer than a one-way. And . . . I have to cross a channel that is as difficult as the currents directly west of France.

The swim will take place either on the weekend of September 13/14 or 20/21.

As always, the money raised goes to improve the awareness of the issues of those afflicted by Epilepsy. Your donations in the past have helped hundreds, along with their siblings and parents, to deal with this horrible and not well known or understood disease.

I will keep swimming until either I cannot or the doctors can provide Kate with better control of the disease. With your support my daughter Kate and many, many others so afflicted with Epilepsy can start to have a more normal life.

Your help again this year is so greatly appreciated.

Again, thank you for your support in the past to get the word out about this horrible disease called Epilepsy.

I hope to see you all there at some point during the swim or at our house.

Please donate our web site: www.swimmingforhope.com or checks can be sent to our house:

James M. Bayles

29 Butterfield Road

Newtown, CT 06470