Tandem Skydive for Dementia Forward

I am the Dementia Programme Manager for the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care System and I am also a carer. I have never been in a plane before and I am afraid of heights so wanted to set myself a real challenge to fundraise for for local dementia services.

Last year I embarked on a life changing journey when I accessed trauma therapy via the Resilience Hub. I promised myself that once I’d finished therapy, I was going to set myself a fear-inducing challenge to celebrate how far I’d come.

So, in true Gemma style, I decided to go for the scariest challenge I could find. I’m terrified of heights. I’ve never even stepped foot on a plane. So when I saw the late Wendy Mitchell write in her blog about her tandem skydive, I just knew this was the challenge for me!

The next step was to book the skydive. At this point I had a sharp reminder of my unhealthy lifestyle when I saw there was a weight restriction – and I needed to be below this threshold before they would allow me to jump out of an aeroplane at 10,000ft.

In my role as dementia programme lead, I am well aware of the risk factors for dementia – including obesity – but it was something I’d considered as being something to worry about later. But later may be too late.

Obesity increases the risk of dementia by 60%, hypertension by 60%, physical inactivity by 40%, and depression by a staggering 90%.

This gave me the kick I needed to take better care of my health, so after booking the skydive for September I set about making small, sustainable changes that will help me in the here and now and reduce my risk of developing dementia in later life.

Since this time I have lost a total of 50lbs in weight, my BP has reduced to what my GP describes as ‘perfect’, and I’m ready for taking the next leap at faith, out of an aircraft from Hibaldstow in North Lincolnshire.

Why should you sponsor me?
I’m raising money for Dementia Forward – an incredible local charity which supports people living in North Yorkshire and York. It provides support, advice and information to 9,500 people affected by dementia across the county, through a range of services. Its grassroots approach ensures our local communities have the support network needed to navigate memory problems or a diagnosis, and beyond. The charity wouldn’t be able to continue the work they do without community support, so I hope you will be able to help. (I am self-funding the skydive to make sure the charity receive 100% of all donations!

Please donate if you can, even just £1 will make a huge difference!

If you'd like to know more about the Humber and North Yorkshire ICS dementia programme, or be involved, please email hnf-tr.hnydementia@nhs.net

Thankyou in advance.