Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Me and my friend Kayleigh are fundraising for the MSA trust, a charity for multiple system atrophy. We are doing a skydive with the Irish parachute club.

This charity is very close to my heart as my dad passed away from this disease on march 17th 2022 aged 58. He was diagnosed in 2017.They have online support groups and in person meetings around Ireland and the UK to raise awareness and also help anyone affected by MSA. Back when my dad was sick my family attended these meetings which helped with the fear of the unknown of what was to come.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurological disorder that affects adult men and women. It is caused by degeneration or atrophy (shrinking) of nerve cells in several (or multiple) areas of the brain. This can result in problems with multiple bodily functions such as speech, movement, balance and blood pressure control.

MSA is a very rare, incurable disease with around 3,500 people in the UK and Ireland currently living with it. This means that most people will never have heard of the condition, unless they themselves have already met someone with MSA. Sadly, this is also true for a lot of health and care professionals which is why the MSA Trust works to raise awareness and increase understanding of MSA throughout the UK and Ireland. Parkinson’s is In the same family of neurological diseases but is 45 times more common, this shows just how rare this disease actually is. There is still much to learn and understand about MSA and research is ongoing to better understand the condition.

We are doing this in memory of my dad, If he was still here today I’m sure he would be right beside us jumping off the plane too because he was fearless right till the very end. My dad was the kindest man I’ve met and everything I hope to be. My dad was a soldier for 41 years (1981-2022). He served 13 times away with the United Nations. Being a soldier was one of his proudest achievements, and doing this in memory of him will be one of mine.

We will miss him forever.

Thanks to Kayleigh for doing this with me as I couldn’t do it alone !