Type 1 diabetes is a life-long autoimmune disease that usually occurs in childhood but can be diagnosed at any age. Type 1 diabetes affects over 122,300 people in Australia alone.
Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system mistakenly turning on itself, destroying beta cells within the pancreas and removing the body’s ability to produce insulin. Insulin allows the body to process sugar to create energy – without insulin, the body literally starves as it cannot process food.
To raise money to help find a cure for Diabetes the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation holds an annual Jump to Cure Diabetes events around Australia. The Jump next year for Canberra will be held on Saturday 22nd March.
Earlier this year Mark signed up for this years challenge after hearing about it on the radio and took the jump in March.
This was certainly a challenge for Mark as he has admitted publicly to not being a thrill seeker or adrenalin junkie. Also hating needles, Mark was hopeful that further research would mean kids in the future would no longer have to use needles to control their insulin levels.
Through the generous donations of individuals, businesses, family and friends My Gungahlin raised the required minimum $1,000 to participate in the skydive and went on to raise $2,495. My Gungahlin came third on the ACT leader board for their fundraising efforts.
The team from Skydive Canberra were great on the day and very reassuring. When we were leaving for the airport we were farewelled and invited to “drop back into” the Mint and have an egg and bacon roll (provided by the Canberra 100 team).
The flight to the 12,000 feet above sea level took about 30 mins, this was a great opportunity to take in the view on a crystal clear morning above Canberra. The flight went across Gungahlin to give a great view of our region. Once above the landing zone Mark thanked the pilot for the lift and advised him they would be “hopping off now”. Once the door was opened the point of no return was to step outside and prepare to jump! Standing there on the edge with the air rushing past was certainly a moment! Next thing there was the sensation of falling and quickly! Free falling for 30 seconds and reaching speeds of up to 200km/h was exhilarating. The canopy was deployed slowing down the descent which was quite sudden but then allowed for an opportunity to take in the views of Canberra. Flying in above friends and family waiting at the oval Mark gave lots of waves and yelling out “Look at me mum, I can fly!” (whilst his mum looked on nervously!). The smooth landing on the oval was right on the target for a perfect landing and skydive. It was great to see so many of our friends and family there to support Mark.
“Awesome”, “unbelievable” were just some of the words Mark used to describe the skydive.
We are putting the challenge out there to fellow Gungahlin residents to get behind this cause and sign up as part of Team Gungahlin. The jump date is scheduled for 22nd March 2014. We would love to see a representative from each sporting code jump in their team colours! We already have two members from the Gungahlin RFS keen and a father of Type 1 diabetic son. You can register your interest here: https://jdrf.wufoo.com/forms/2014-jump-to-cure-diabetes-expression-of-interest/ Go on challenge yourself!
Let us know once your fundraising page is created and we will help promote your page.
Photo thanks to Another Happy Customer – Creative Photography for Cool People
Photo thanks to Another Happy Customer – Creative Photography for Cool People
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