Published: Wednesday, 19th March, 2008 10:00
The height of love for Samantha
By Susie Penman
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Debbie with her daughter, Samantha, hopes it will be plane sailing on the day.
WHEN Debbie Brown has raised money to help people with Cystic Fibrosis before, she’s done it in quite conventional ways through sponsored walks and dress-down days at work.
But that’s all about to change.
For the devoted mum – who is scared of heights – will be skydiving from 3,500 feet to help those, like her daughter, who suffer from the disease.
About six weeks ago, when she was reading her monthly newsletter from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, she happened upon an article about people who raised funds by jumping out of a plane.
She said: “I thought, ‘Oh, I could do that,’ so I looked into it and it just kind of went from there.”
Debbie’s 16 year-old daughter, Samantha, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was just two.
And although she is a typical teenager in lots of ways, she still has to spend a lot of time in the hospital.
“I thought I’d like to do something a bit different from the sponsored walk,” Mrs Brown said, adding, “And it is a real challenge for me as I’m scared of heights, you see.”
The St Boswells resident, who works for Careline Services in Selkirk, won’t be doing the jump alone, however, as she’ll be doing a tandem dive with one of the instructors at the airfield.
This means that she won’t have to go through any rigorous training before the big day.
Said Debbie: “I couldn’t do a solo, and the fact that you’re strapped to somebody else means you can’t exactly say no at the last minute. You just have to do it.”
As for her friends and family, they’re supportive—albeit a bit surprised that she’s taking the plunge.
She added: “They’re shocked, to say the least, because I am so scared of heights. But they’re behind me 100 per cent and they’re all coming to the airfield to support me.
“I never thought I’d do this. I can’t even climb into the attic into my house, never mind do anything else. It’ll either kill me or cure me.”
A minimum of £395 is required for the jump, and so far Debbie has managed to raise more than £500.
“Anything above that would be fantastic,” she said.
“Everybody at work has been very supportive, but the more I can get, the better.”
Her daughter, who is “as shocked as anybody else” that her mum is doing the jump, is going to Edinburgh next month to undergo gene therapy.
“If they could give her a better quality of life or a longer life, I’d jump off of any number of planes,” Debbie said.
The jump will be at Peterlee Airfield in Sunderland on Saturday, March 29th. Anybody who would like to sponsor Debbie can call her on 07814756858.
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