Trish, 67, takes to the skies for liver disease awareness
A Telford woman will be taking to the skies and jumping out of a plane later this year to raise money for two causes very close to her heart later this year.
Trish Harris-McNee, who turned 67 earlier this year, will be skydiving from 15,000 feet at Tilstock Airfield, near Whitchurch, on Saturday 26 October.
Trish, who has been afraid of heights for as long as she can remember, decided she wanted to do something that would push her to her limits to raise money for the Liver Foundation, a part of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, and the British Liver Trust.
In May 2018, Trish experienced a health scare and is currently going through the diagnosis process for non-alcoholic primary biliary cirrhosis, a form of liver disease. As a result of her ongoing treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Trish decided to raise money to support the ongoing work of the Liver Foundation.
Since her diagnosis, Trish has become aware of the number of people who are living with liver disease, saying: “I was astounded by how many people are either suffering from liver disease, have experienced the loss of a loved-one or awaiting liver transplants.”
She added: “Liver disease brings some really unpleasant symptoms, which sufferers have to deal with on a daily basis. It can be alcohol and non-alcohol related and I’m passionate about raising awareness of something that could affect any of us.”
She is now looking for the local community, including businesses in the Telford area, to help her smash her fundraising target of £2,000, which will be split equally between the QEHB Liver Foundation and the British Liver Foundation. “I’m currently looking at ways, in addition to the skydive, to raise money. I’ve got lots of ideas bubbling away and would really like to hold an event of some kind to maximise the effort.”
Trish’s determination is clear. In preparation for her skydive and to improve her long-term prognosis, she has been visiting Wellington Leisure Centre daily, exercising for 2 hours at a time. She’s already lost 3 stone in the past 12 months!
Anyone who would like to get involved, support an event, help with sponsorship or find out more about Trish’s quest, should contact her directly at Trish@archlodge.com or 07795 211822
You can donate to support Trish's fundraising here.
