Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I will be completing a tandem skydive on Thursday 28th June 2018 for two charities, one being Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

They are the United Kingdom’s leading charity in the battle against Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Founded as a patients’ association in 1979, they now have 35,000 members across the country. They work to make life better for 300,000 people in the country with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and other forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which have no known cause or cure. Inflammation and ulceration occurs in the digestive tract causing a number of symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fatigue, anaemia, stunted growth, and can lead to mental health conditions. Many people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease will require surgery in their life time. The hidden disability can cause isolation and embarrassment, and can have an impact on education, work, social and home activities.  

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of thirteen, four years after a doctor branded recurring symptoms as ‘imaginary’ and a product of an ‘over-anxious’ mother. Since then I have undergone surgery, liquid diets and medication to try and manage the disease. In October 2013, during a flare-up that hospitalised me for six days, my potassium levels dropped to a dangerously low level I was put on emergency intravenous drips.

I have come to learn that people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease are some of the bravest people I know.

Crohn’s and Colitis UK have supported me ever since I was diagnosed in November 2007. I regularly write articles about my experiences living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and I am also a member of their Readers Panel.

I would like to say thank you to you and everyone at Crohn’s and Colitis UK by completing this tandem skydive in their name.