I will be taking part in the Cystic Fibrosis skydive day in May 2016. I'm doing this to raise money for a cause that means a lot to me and my family. My son, Robert Lee Skinner; sadly lost his fight to Cystic Fibrosis on November 18th 2015 and I'd love to do a skydive in honour of him.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition in which the lungs and digestive system become clogged with thick sticky mucus.

Symptoms usually start in early childhood and include:

• persistent cough
• recurring chest and lung infections
• poor weight gain

An early sign is that an affected child’s sweat is unusually salty, which can be noticeable when you kiss your child. 

However, most cases of cystic fibrosis in the UK are now identified through screening tests carried out early in life, before symptoms appear.

Treating cystic fibrosis

As there is no cure for cystic fibrosis the aim of treatment is to ease symptoms and make the condition easier to live with. For some rare types of cystic fibrosis, such as the G551D mutation, there are treatments which aim to compensate for a defective gene.