In August I'm going to dangle all the way down Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower. Why? To help raise funds for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People who gave me the extraordinary gift of Elmo three years ago. 

I am now severely to profoundly deaf and, where I was previously outgoing and confident, this reduced in direct proportion to my gradual, age-acquired hearing loss. In turn, this meant I increasingly isolated myself both socially and at work as deafness is very tiring and debilitating. And then I met a Hearing Dog for the first time. Laya belonged to my very good friend Pam and I saw how much she benefitted from their partnership. Thus started the journey to get my own Hearing Dog. After a thorough application process and three and a half long years of waiting, I was finally matched with my HD Elmo in 2015. He has changed my life and opened up my world again in countless ways. So I want other people to benefit as I have, hopefully with a shorter waiting period. 

This isn't easy as each dog costs £40,000, with £25,000 the initial cost to get the dog to the recipient from breeding to matching. And that's where you come in - all donations, small or large, will be gratefully received, and will be one more reason to ensure I maintain my brave but bonkers commitment to abseil the Spinnaker!!

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