'Heart of Gold' teenager born with a critical heart defect swims 500km for charity in Milton Keynes

Dylan Watson, 18, has always refused to be wrapped up in cotton wool due to his medical problem, which is called Pulmonary Atresia.

It means the pulmonary valve did not form properly and he needed two life-saving operations within days of his birth.

He still has regular checks ups and faces future open heart surgery. But in the meantime he is determined to become one of the fittest cardiac patients in history.

"The heart is a muscle and the harder you work it the stronger it will get...I want to show people that even if you are set back in life from the start you shouldn’t take it as a hindrance but take it as a blessing to overcome and become stronger physically and mentally," he said.

In 2018 Dylan ran an incredible 500 miles to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and Willen Hospice. He fitted the runs, averaging 10 miles a time, in between playing competitive hockey five times a week.

Now he has set himself a second challenge - swimming 500km at his at a rate of 5km a day at his local swimming pool.

This means he has to get up at the crack of dawn and swim from around 8am until 11am each morning. And when the swimming pool wasn't open during lockdown, he trained in the local river instead.

He has launched a fundraising page and plans to donate the proceeds of his mammoth swim to the British Heart Foundation and to YiS, Milton Keynes' young people's counselling charity.

"YiS helped me a lot a while ago, when I was having some problems, It's a great charity," he said,

Dylan says he gets huge fulfillment from knowing he is improving his own fitness levels and also helping worthy causes.

"I have gone through and go through my own mental health battles and these changes and daily tasks help my stay focused and keep my eyes on the end goal. This gives me great satisfaction and helps out great causes which in turn makes me happy.

"These are both great causes that are dear to my heart and I think deserve all they should get as they do amazing things for our community.

"During my swims I have lots of time to think and this is a blessing and a curse, depending on the days. But the way I stay motivated day in day out is because I know at the end of the year when I get to 500km the happiness that’ll give me will make the suffering in the moment 10000 per cent worth it.

"I also love to think about a certain saying or quote during a swim and indulge myself in that.

"Aristotle thought that happiness wasn’t a good word so he/ Ancient Greeks used the word Eudaimonia which means 'Happiness without fulfilment is failure’. I love this saying ... I know I’m willing to suffer and in a strange way I enjoy the suffering and labouring to get that happiness at the end of a challenge."

Dylan, who is thinking of studying sport university, is desperately hoping there will not be another lockdown to force the closure of 'his' swimming pool, Middleton Pool in Newport Pagnell.

He is hoping to raise £500. You can donate via his fundraising page here . And you can follow the progress of his swim on Instagram here .