Teacher to do skydive for charity
A Stafford teacher who suffers from severe motion sickness has signed up to a tandem skydive to raise cash for charity.
Inspired by Invictus Games athletes, Anne-Laure Weetman has decided to face her fears head-on by taking a sponsored leap of faith from more than 10,000ft, in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust on April 27.
The 44-year-old Stafford Grammar School French teacher has experienced her fair share of challenges - at the age of 19 she fell from a four storey building and broke her spine, punctured both lungs, fractured nine ribs and a wrist. She fought her way back to fitness and was playing basketball again in under a year.
And then in 2005 she escaped unscathed from a car accident when her vehicle hit a telegraph post at 60 miles per hour. Only two years later she underwent a minor operation in hospital but had a severe allergic reaction to the medication, which nearly killed her.
Anne-Laure said: “I’m very grateful to be alive today and since then I’ve been doing my best to help people around me. What I’m about to do will definitely push me to my limits, not only the height issue but the flying bit too."
The major obstacle she must tackle is overcoming an acute motion sickness condition which affects her daily life. The teacher feels sea-sick in a swimming pool, chooses to take the stairs rather than a lift and even doing press ups makes her nauseous.
She added: “It affects my life so much that I attend physiotherapy for it. I’d like to be able to do a ferry crossing to France sitting up, instead of having to lie down on the floor.
“Watching the Invinctus Games was very inspirational. It’s hard to believe how much those members of the armed forces found the inner strength and willingness to overcome their disabilities and do something so positive. I have got all my limbs, so I thought it would be insulting to do a simple challenge. If I want to ask people to help me raise money for charity, I’ve got to feel that it’s for something which will push me to my limit.”
Pupils and staff are rallying round to lend their support and Anne-Laure hopes her skydive near Whitchurch will raise more than £1,500.
“Despite my various accidents, I’m still alive and I want to make a difference. Seeing the donations going up and the messages of encouragement, I realise there’s no going back and as the day gets closer I’ll focus on the reasons why I’m doing this and think of all the people who believe in me,” she added.
To sponsor Anne-Laure visit https://give.everydayhero.com/uk/skydive-3
