A friend asked me if it was sensible for an 80 year old to do a skydive and she is probably right - it’s not. But then a granddaughter sent me a card which said “Life’s too short to be sensible all the time” so I thought why not? and by doing so raise money for a charity. I’ve never wanted to be defined by age and I’ve always risen to a challenge, including recovering from a heart attack and a stroke. However, this will certainly be my biggest challenge to date especially as the thought of it terrifies me!

I’ve chosen Sightsavers as I have personal experience of sight being saved for someone in my family and I want this to happen as far and wide as possible in the world. Sightsavers works in more than thirty countries helping to prevent avoidable blindness by treating eye conditions such as cataracts and tackling debilitating diseases many of which can cause sight loss. For so many children It is often a race against time to operate before their sight is lost forever. Many children also suffer from trachoma an excruciating disease causing eyelashes to turn inwards and scrape away at the eye's surface. Many resort to pulling their eyelashes out even after the disease has caused them to go blind to help stop the endless pain of blinking.

This is heartbreaking especially when treatment is straightforward and affordable. By sponsoring me doing my skydive you could help to provide a cataract operation or protect an entire family or community against diseases like trachoma that cause painful and needless blindness. Thank you for reading this and I hope it has helped you to decide to sponsor me.