Ellie Stankovska
My skydive and fight against cavernoma
Fundraising for The Cavernoma Society
Story
Hi everyone, please take a minute to read this?
As some of you will know, a few years ago my sister was diagnosed with a condition called cavernoma. This is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels, which in Simona’s case occurred in her brain. Cavernomas can bleed and cause paralysis, stroke-like symptoms, seizures, and in some cases, even death. People can go from enjoying their life and not knowing they have it, to suddenly having their life turned upside down and losing their independence. The condition is so cruel!
We were so lucky and blessed that Sim underwent successful brain surgery, and has made a positive recovery. But she is still left with numerous deficits and difficulties, as are many others with the illness. My amazing sister realised that there wasn’t much practical and emotional support for those affected by cavernoma, so worked her butt off and started her own charity in 2018. The Cavernoma Society has since grown rapidly, and helped hundreds of lovely people with free counselling, benefits support, yoga, rehabilitation retreats, and so much more. Their mission is to help people at every step of their cavernoma journey, and they make such a tremendous difference. But this fantastic service can only continue with fundraising.
In recent months, I have unfortunately been diagnosed with a cavernoma too, and am starting to experience how hard it is living with a debilitating, yet invisible, illness/disability. There are some days where I have so much pain and fatigue that I can’t even get out of bed. It has made me even more determined to raise awareness about the condition and help the charity so they can keep offering this much needed support.
So, I’ve decided to do what all sensible people do….throw myself out of a plane! On Sunday 19th September, I will be taking part in a tandem skydive. I’m completely terrified, but will do anything to increase awareness. So pretty please, if you can spare some money, kindly sponsor me so that I can raise some money for this charity that is so close to my heart? No amount is too small, and 100% of donations go to providing services to individuals with cavernoma and their family members, and research towards treatments and cures. And even if you can’t donate right now, please spend a couple of minutes having a look at the charity’s website or follow them on social media using the details below:
https://m.facebook.com/CavernomaSociety/?_rdr
Thank you so much for reading and supporting my cause.
Ellie x
