Wow, what can we say... thank you to everyone who came together on the 3rd anniversary of Eloise's passing to join Team E at the Bridge to Brisbane. On what is obviously a most difficult day, we were overwhelmed with the support, love and encouragement we felt leading up to and during the B2B. So many people doing their bit to come together for our cause and to remember Eloise. Not only by the runners and walkers who joined us on the day (there were 120 by the way!) but also for the generosity shown with an extraordinary amount of donations made to the Foundation. We seem to saying this a lot lately, but THANK YOU, everyone!

We will continue to keep a look out for future community events we could be involved in. Events like the Bridge to Brisbane are great way to join Team E and help us to raise awareness of the Foundation and what we stand for. Please keep an eye on our website and facebook for future events coming up.

We're already looking forward to the next Team E event, hopefully we'll see you there!

It's been a busy couple of months since we launched Eloise's foundation and we really couldn't be happier with the support we've received so far. I hadn't realised just how far we'd come (and so quickly) until a couple of weeks ago. We had the opportunity to meet with the good people from Swimming Queensland and Speedo. They were extremely positive and enthusiastic about getting behind the foundation and doing their bit along the way to help us with achieving our goals. These meetings culminated very quickly with both organisations agreeing to provide support to the foundation which we are absolutely thrilled about. Let's just say it was a big day for the Foundation! Swimming was such a big part of Eloise’s life, we are so thankful and proud to have their support and join Team Eloise.

Speedo and Swimming Qld have very kindly agreed to do what they can to get behind the foundation at the upcoming McDonald's Queensland Short Course Swimming Championships (27-28th August). Each year Speedo develop a unique swim cap for sale at the meet and this year they have generously included our Team Eloise logo as part of the design, and they look gorgeous! We can't wait to see them in the pool, particularly on the 28th, such a significant day for all of us.

Swimming Queensland have also been amazing, and so willing to help where they can and spread the word about the Foundation. Team Eloise will set up our newly acquired Team Eloise Marquee (courtesy of Swimming Qld) so please come by to say hello and have a look at some of our merchandise, we'd love to see you there!

So, a big heartfelt THANK YOU to Swimming Qld and Speedo! Another (big) step along the way to achieving the foundations goals.

Thank you!

It's amazing how often you come across cases of WPW once you're aware of it. Watching the new NRL Rookie program on Channel 9 promising NRL Rookie Matt Gorman had a lucky escape with WPW.

As part of the medical screening process for the show Matt was given a ECG and diagnosed with WPW. Fortunately for Matt he had a successful ablation procedure and was given the all clear to continue on with the sport he loves and hopefully fulfill his dream of being the first NRL Rookie.

Way to go Matt, you are one lucky Rookie!

A 50km Trek? Sure, sounds like fun, a great occasion for a stroll around the coastline of Sydney I hear! Well, not quite....even though there were blisters a plenty and toenails lost (not sure Jano or Bec will ever completely recover) nevertheless, a truly great day was had by all. There were lots of laughs and maybe just a few tears along the way, but most importantly both Team Eloise 1 & 2 made it!! Huge thanks must go to Patti, Bucky & Jane for taking this Trek on with me, they are such truly great friends I couldn't have asked for better people to have by my side. To my wonderful sister in-law Kath and beautiful nieces Bec and Kristin, to have you guys embark on this epic Trek together so proudly wearing the Team Eloise gear means so much to me, Geoff and Bronte. Everyone put in such a huge effort and I'm sure Ella-Bella would be very proud. Way to go Team Eloise!!

Deciding to set up a charity in Eloise's name was the easy bit, ticking all the boxes to actually see it come together has been the difficult part, but with the help of a great group of friends here we are. Having the foundation set up to honour Eloise is very special for us, we can only hope our tragedy will put the spotlight on WPW and prevent another family having to deal with the enormity of such a loss.

Eloise had only recently turned 15, we knew she had WPW, but she was considered an extremely low risk to any complications and more specifically becoming a victim of Sudden Cardiac Death. Alarmingly only a week prior to Eloise passing away she had a thorough consultation with a cardiologist and was again given the all clear to continue her active lifestyle, in particular swimming. Earlier that year Eloise swam at Age Nationals, which for Eloise was a dream come true. Training was hard and time consuming but she loved it and being a part of the team at Clayfield Aquatics made her so very happy, the pool was her second home. She was just starting to combat her greatest challenge - race day nerves, it was something Eloise struggled with since she was little, but things were starting to change. Most kids would have given the training away years before, but not Eloise, she stuck at it and the results were beginning to come her way. The day before Eloise passed away was very routine, just like so many others before that, she'd completed two 2 hour training sessions without any signs or symptoms of what was to come....

We will never know exactly why Eloise passed away on the night she did, for us there are still so many questions left unanswered. Why in her sleep? Why wasn't she symptomatic? Was she but the symptoms weren't recognised? What could we have done to prevent it from happening? Should she have been sleeping on a special mattress with an alarm? Should we have had a defibrillator at home? Should she have been allowed to swim at such a high level? So many questions...

If we can in anyway help prevent the passing of another young fit and seemingly healthy child/teenager or young adult, the Eloise Gannon Foundation has been a success, to do this in Eloise's name makes it all the more important for us. Our darling girl was far too young to go the way she did and it still seems so hard to believe that she has really gone.... Establishing the Eloise Gannon Foundation is our way of keeping Eloise's memory alive and to hopefully make a difference to others in the future.

One of our initial goals is to raise enough funds to get a Team Eloise Mobile Screening Van on the road. The aim is to provide quick and easy, non invasive ECG testing to kids and to raise the public awareness of the risks of Sudden Cardiac Death. Being undiagnosed with a potentially fatal condition is a frightening thought, if we can provide a service to screen our youth and potentially save a life we are on to something really positive.

We'd also love to see a registry established which tracks the incidence of sudden cardiac death in young athletes and ultimately the introduction of pre-participation screening programs for junior sport.

We need to start people talking and thinking about the implications WPW and other potentially life threatening arrhythmia's can have on families. Raising awareness is just the beginning.

I hope sometime soon you can be a part of our vision and make a difference. Here's to Team Eloise xx

Picture : Cousin Una, Eloise, Cousin Cara, Eloise's Sister Bronte and Cousin Niamh, forever a part of Team Eloise. Such a precious photo to us xx

Eloise really found her calling in the pool, she loved all of it... the discipline, the competition and most of all the friendship. Clayfield College very kindly named Lane 4 in Eloise's honour...