Rotorua brain bleed survivor joins Big Swim to raise funds for Coastguard volunteers
Robyn Beers-Bekedam lives with hemiparesis after suffering a brain haemorrhage in June 2022. She is participating in the Big Swim this year to raise funds for Coastguard. Photo / Susan Pattle
Rotorua pensioner Robyn Beers-Bekedam has had to adjust to a “new normal” after suffering a brain haemorrhage in June 2022.
The life-altering brain bleed came “completely out of the blue” for the fit and healthy traveller, who had been touring the country after being made redundant in 2021.
“Then I was just applying for part-time work when the haemorrhage happened.”
The 67-year-old instantly developed hemiparesis, which meant the left side of her body had “minimal function”.
“I went from a person who went tramping and camping and fishing almost every weekend to a person who depends on a wheelchair a lot.
“Cooking and that’s a nightmare, but I manage.”
Beers-Bekedam spent two months at Rotorua Hospital and did “as much rehab as I could fit in”.
She now has carers who help her at home.
A kidney cancer diagnosis followed in June 2023.
She had two surgeries at Tauranga Hospital. She is now in remission and has three-monthly checks.
Post-diagnoses, Beers-Bekedam said swimming helped her mentally and physically.
This year she is taking part in the Big Swim, a nationwide challenge that raises funds for Coastguard during the month of June.
Beers-Bekedam said she used to work in a search and rescue team in Rotorua.
“And we did use them [Coastguard] on occasion to help us ... get across lakes and to help with lake searches and stuff.
“They’ve always been important in my life.”
She swam with a “very unique style”, due to having hemiparesis.
Her Big Swim goal was 20km.
She praised the Rotorua Aquatic Centre, where she would be clocking her kilometres.
She said she swam five times a week, depending on the weather, as she mostly used the bus to get there.
Tauranga open water swimmer Vicki Ward said her goal was to swim between 15 and 20km for her third year participating in the Big Swim.
Ward said she was in Nelson for two weeks this month and would swim at a public pool there. In Tauranga, she would swim at the Toi Ohomai Windermere Campus pool.
“I just find being in the water is ... great exercise for the whole body and great for your mental health.”
The self-described “boatie” said Coastguard did an amazing job saving lives.
“I know how things can change so quickly out in the sea ... ”
The Big Swim website says participants who raise more than $50 can gain free access to the pools at Toi Ohomai’s Windermere Campus, and the Rotorua and Baywave aquatic centres.
A Coastguard Tautiaki Moana statement said the Big Swim encouraged swimmers of all abilities to set a goal for June, whether it be a few laps at the local pool or in open water.
Participants are raising funds for Coastguard’s 2000 volunteers.
The statement said volunteers responded to 1460 incidents between Labour weekend 2025 and Easter 2026, bringing 3668 people home to safety.
Last year, 2581 swimmers covered 29,511km and raised $644,360 for Coastguard, nearly doubling the funds raised at the inaugural event in 2024.
Coastguard chief executive Carl McOnie said it had been incredible to watch the Big Swim build momentum year after year.
“Every dollar raised helps fuel and maintain our rescue vessels, supports essential equipment and ensures our volunteers are trained and ready to respond when needed.”
People can sponsor Beers-Bekedam and Ward, or register for the challenge, on the Big Swim website.
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.