On Monday afternoon, June 15, 13-year-old Tom McIsaac completed the final lap of a month-long marathon swim, all to raise money for Ronald McDonald House.

Three days a week for the past four weeks, the Year 8 Kinross Wolaroi student has hit the pool, swimming lap after lap to chip away at his 15-kilometre target distance.

Originally hoping to raise just $300, Tom has already smashed his fundraising target with generous donors contributing more than $5,300 to a cause that is close to Tom and his family.

Three years ago, Tom was struck by a combination of rare autoimmune diseases that saw him spend weeks in a critical condition at Westmead Children’s Hospital and took away his vision and impaired his hearing.

“He nearly died,” Tom’s mother, Helen, said. “There was so much and they weren't sure of which systems were involved… they were doing everything to try to find out what it was.

“But they did some really groundbreaking procedures on him to save his life. He had his blood basically completely changed six times, with medications going in at the same time just to try and keep him alive.”

Throughout Tom’s treatment and recovery, his family (who run a farm near Gulargambone) found a home away from home at Ronald McDonald House.

“We were there six weeks. It seems too short for such a life-changing thing, but six weeks at Westmead and basically all that time in Ronnie Mac,” Helen said.

So when Tom was looking to do a fundraiser, Ronald McDonald House was really the only cause considered.

A keen swimmer since he was six, Tom hasn’t let losing his sight hamper his competitive dreams. He came fourth at an Australian Championship tournament in Queensland earlier this year, and has been selected for the NSW squad to compete in Melbourne in a month’s time.

Although that information was volunteered by Tom’s swimming coach. When we asked if he was quick in the pool, he modestly replied, “Sometimes.”

Tom may have hit his 15-kilometre goal, but it’s not too late to add to his fundraising total for Ronald McDonald House. To give, visit: support.ronaldmcdonaldhousecwnsw.org.au/event/toms-swim