Our Community Fundraiser, Sarah Ajder, tells her story about Skydiving for The Hospice of St Francis.
When I arrived at the sky diving centre on Saturday morning it looked unlikely that we would get off the ground. Thankfully the skies cleared by 11.30am and I was in the first group to go.
4 of us took off, attached to our tandem instructors in the smallest plane I have ever been in.
Up through the clouds we went until finally at 13.000 feet the sky turned blue and my tandem instructor tipped us out of the door!
After weeks of anticipation mixed with excitement there I was, freefalling at 120mph down towards the clouds way below, smiling for the camera!
Once the canopy opened, everything slowed down and I took my goggles off and enjoyed the spectacular view.
It was wonderful to feel the wind in my face and to be up there looking down at the ground below through the gaps in the cloud.
I felt 100% confident in my instructor Dave and he gave me a fantatic ride down with some twist and turns once we were through the cloud to add bit of excitement, before bringing us in for a perfectly controlled landing. The instructors are amazing and make it look so easy.
Once back on the ground I couldn't stop smiling, although I couldn't text anyone for half an hour as my hands were shaking too much! My fundraising target was £1,300, and I asked my friends to help me raise a pound for every foot on the way down. Much to my delight they nearly did! To top up my fundraising I also organised a fashion show at a local shop which raised a further £421.
I would love to sky dive again and it was a real privilege for me to do so with a fantastic team of Hospice supporters. It’s a day I will never forget and hope to repeat as soon as possible!
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