Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Hi there, my name is Laura and iv'e decided to face my fear of height's by jumping out of a plane on the 2nd December! Ahhh!

What motivated me to do this - well, i'm always up for a new challenge and am forever chasing an adrenaline rush. However when it comes to heights it's always been a no go for me. I've decided to face my fear and raise money for a charity called 'MIND'. Mind give people suffering with mental health illness the hope and help they need to understand they're not alone.

My Story - My Dad was like no other. He was funny, creative, intelligent, incredibly talented and an extremely loving and caring man. To list one of my Dad's many talents was his art work, I guess I never really appreciated how phenomenal his work was until I grew older. He was unstoppable but a perfectionist. Blood, sweat and tears would go into his master pieces. People from all over would be in contact asking for drawings and paintings. The walls in my school library were brought to life with his extrodinary work. I always wished he would be an Art teacher at my secondary school, he would have been awesome. 

It was November time in 2003, mum and dad had been arguing more than often. Me and my 3 siblings would sit on the stairs listening when we should have been in bed. The inevitable happened, mum and dad separated and divorced. The family home quickly went from a united, fun, loving warm home to a dark, scary place to be. 

I was 16 and before I knew it became my dads carer. Depression had well and truly taken over my dad, he was no longer the man that I knew. I felt like I was living in my family home with a stranger, I guess he felt like a stranger to himself. My youngest brother Lee, 12 at the time described it as living with a scary monster. He described it like this because of the things we had to witness. Lee wouldn't come home from school until he knew I was home, he would sit on the wall at the top of the drive waiting for me. Coming home from college was a scary thought, what would I witness today? Would he be rocking in a chair in the corner, would he be self harming again, would he be angry with us, would he be dead? Sometimes I would walk through the front door and he would fall into my arms and sob into my shoulder. I could feel his pain, gosh it was horrible all I could do was hold him and tell him it was going to be ok. I wish I could have taken the pain away. It was a struggle to get Dad out the house, he didn't want to see daylight or people but I NEEDED to get him to the doctors to tell them how bad he was, how he had told me and attempted numerous times to end his life. I held his hand tight and told him "you can do this, i'm here". We made it to the doctors, I was so proud of him.

Dad was on medications, he had a councillor come to see him once a week and friends and family to support him. The difficulty was he would pretend that everything was ok infront of them. I didn't understand what stigma was back then but can only imagine that this is why he didn't want to let others know the pain and illness he was so desperately struggling with. 

October 8th 2004, 3pm I was working in a clothes shop in town daydreaming whilst arranging the accessories. Suddenly an ambulance and police cars go steaming passed, flashing blue lights. My heart sunk, that was it, I knew that dad had ended it. Mum walked in 15 minutes later with black mascara down her face, that confirmed it. I weirdly remained calm until we drove up my road and saw the police tape around my family home I grew up in. I stepped out of the car and saw my 12 year old brother walk up to me looking as white as a ghost but also weirdly calm and he said "thats it he's gone". In that moment I collapsed and was taken to my siblings in a neighbours house. All 4 of us screaming, crying, kicking and punching the floor. I was sad and so incredibly angry at everyone. Dad needed help, why could no one see that, why didn't anyone do more.

Dad hung himself and left a suicide note. No one should ever have to feel like thats their only option!

There are so many people suffering with metal health illness. it's serious and I can't wait for the stigma to end.

Thanks for reading my story.

Laura x