Real stories

Skydiving to fundraise for dementia and increase awareness

My grannie Jean – we call her Jeannie – is just adorable. As a child, I spent lots of time with her and I think of her as a guiding force in my life. She was always happy, bubbly, busy doing things and had lots of friends.

She first developed dementia symptoms around 10 years ago and, sadly, her health has gone downhill very quickly.

She’s now in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease. She can’t talk or eat, drink or do anything on her own.

Occasionally, she’ll smile and grin and I can tell she still absolutely adores me, but she’s just a shell of herself.

Public attitudes towards dementia

I am really surprised and frustrated about public understanding of dementia.

People seem to think it’s just about forgetting where you’ve put your keys. They don’t understand the impact and the heartbreak.

So when I decided to start fundraising for Alzheimer’s Society, I wanted to raise awareness too – not just about how dementia affects the person with a diagnosis but everyone around them too.

My family has had to literally upend everything and, like so many carers, make big sacrifices to provide care for my grannie, to ensure she can live out the rest of her days as comfortably as possible.

I want people to be aware of what carers like my granddad and mum do day in, day out.

I’ve fundraised several different times for the Society, I did a 5k run when I was about 12 and I’ve taken part in Elf Day.

But I wanted to do something with a greater impact – make people stop and think. That’s why I decided to do a skydive. Although I’m pretty active, I wouldn’t say I’m into adrenaline sports!

What it felt like to skydive

My skydive was cancelled three times because of bad weather. If I’d had any doubts about doing it, the delays might have convinced me to back out. But they made me more motivated.

When the day finally arrived, I had some nerves but the main thing I felt was pride.

Everything’s a bit of a blur but I won’t forget the fact that I cried when I was going up in the plane because my grannie Jeannie came to the airfield with the rest of my family.

When I fell out of the plane harnessed to my instructor, my mind raced and filled with memories of Grannie. I remember looking down, trying to find where she was waiting and thinking, ‘I’m doing this for you!’

It was an amazing experience. 

I felt so much pride in what I’d achieved and cried tears of joy afterwards. 

It made me feel like a whole new person and I felt on top of the world for days.

Why fundraising is important

I raised around £700 from my skydive, which is brilliant, but I want to do more. I’m considering doing another skydive!

I’ve been trying to think of different ways I can get more people to understand dementia better.

I’d encourage everyone to get involved in fundraising. You don’t have to fall out of a plane, just start small and find something you feel comfortable with.

You can feel so helpless when a person close to you is diagnosed with dementia, fundraising is a way to feel like you’re making a difference.

Unfortunately, it is too late for my family, but I hope my efforts will go some way to ensuring a better future for people affected by dementia.