I wanted to support the charity that’s supported me

I was diagnosed with MS in 2021. A few years later, I saw the Summer Big Leap in MS Matters and thought, ‘shall I?’ 

I always wanted to do a skydive when I was younger. But with getting married and starting a family, it fell by the wayside. Eventually, I decided, ‘why not?’ I wanted to support the charity that’s supported me throughout my diagnosis. And I like to think I’m rebelling against MS and old age!

People were very generous

I set a target of raising £500. But people were very generous, and I ended up raising more than £3,000. 

My husband’s work did a couple of fundraising evenings, which really boosted the amount. People at my work, including some of my regular customers, helped too. Even now, they’ll say, ‘have you jumped out of any planes lately?’ And my local Newbury and District Group supported me and shared my JustGiving page on Facebook.

The community of amazing friends I’ve made at my gym also cheered me on from the get-go. I’ve done swimming for long time. I find it relaxing – especially when you can jump in a jacuzzi afterwards. But I joined a gym after my diagnosis to get stronger and healthier, and it’s helped a lot, physically and mentally. It feels great to do classes. It’s a much lower level of adrenaline than the skydive, but it still gets the endorphins pumping.

My regular customers knew about my diagnosis. They’ve known me since I went numb from the waist down before I got diagnosed. But there were others who asked, ‘oh, do you know someone with MS?’ when they heard I was doing a skydive for the MS Society. Because MS can be an invisible disease, a lot of people were surprised that I had it. It was a chance to have those conversations and make more people aware. 

The big day

On the day of the skydive, I woke up feeling nervous, but excited. My husband, son and daughter, my best friend and her daughter, and some of my other wonderful friends came along. They’ve each been an amazing support.

The induction and training were straightforward. I was quite nervous about going up in the propeller plane, but I actually loved it. You can see more than on a commercial plane, so getting to height felt more gradual. And it’s lovely countryside around there.

Once we were up, my tandem partner attached himself to me, and they opened the doors. It was really loud, and I was worried we’d have to wait by the door, but we were out in no time.

Initially, I shut my eyes. I felt immense pressure and cold on my forehead while free falling. We were going at about 125 miles per hour. It felt like we were tumbling – I didn’t know if I was up or down. But when I opened my eyes, I could see that we were going directly downwards. Then we went through a cloud, which was so fun. Before I knew it, I got the tap from my tandem partner telling me to put my arms out before he opened the chute. Suddenly we were vertical, and things slowed down.

I started to feel a bit sick. I took some deep breaths, and my tandem partner reassured me that we’d be going nice and slow for the rest of the way. I focused on taking in the view, including the gorgeous cathedral, and the nausea passed. I spotted my family and friends and gave them a great big wave. They couldn’t miss me in my orange MS Society T-shirt.

A terrifying but truly amazing experience

The landing was quite gentle. I could hear my posse cheering and clapping, and my adrenaline was pumping. I shouted, ‘I want to do it again!’ It was a terrifying but truly amazing experience. 

If anyone’s thinking about doing a skydive for the MS Society, I’d say: if you can, go for it. Don’t let MS hold you back from doing the things you want to do. I think it’s good to push yourself a little bit. Sometimes you need to be stubborn and not let anything put you off!

From community walks and rolls to dare-devil sky dives - there's lots of ways to help raise funds to stop MS. 

Find a fundraising event near you