Sky’s the limit for Arthur Rank Hospice Charity’s On Call Nurse

• 2 August 2019

Post Jump Update:

We caught up with Ann after her Skydive, which was postponed due to weather conditions, to Thursday 25th July. Ann commented:

“One of the most powerful experiences of the day, was when my tandem partner took my hand as we walked to the plane. It just gave me so much courage and showed me the comfort we might be giving our patients and the power of touch”

she followed it up with:

 “I would have gone straight back up again if I could!”

so we’re guessing she enjoyed it. Well done Ann and all her supporters.

To date (2nd August 2019) Ann has raised an amazing £955.00 for the Hospice and Magpus (only £45.00 away from £1,000!!)

If you would still like to donate to Ann’s Just Giving page you can do so here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=AnnRead2&pageUrl=1

We speak to Ann, our On Call Nurse with the Hospice at Home team at Arthur Rank Hospice Charity about her upcoming sky-high challenge as she raises funds for the ‘Help Us Be There’ campaign and Magpas.

How did you first come into contact with Arthur Rank Hospice Charity?

My sister worked for Arthur Rank Hospice when it first opened in the 1980s

Why did you choose to skydive?

Because I had been excited by it since I watched my two sons jump 20 years ago.

What are your expectations from the dive?

Fear and excitement and being the nearest to flying like a bird.

Have you ever done anything like this before?

No nothing like this, I can’t bear edges!

How will you mentally prepare yourself beforehand?

I’ve been doing autogenic therapy as I learnt 20 years ago with my daughter and looking at my son’s videos of their events.

Are you nervous about the dive? If so, what is it that scares you?

Yes, scared of heights and a bit nervous. I was watching my skin ripple in the hand dryers and realised the same thing will happen on my dive!!

How scared are you out of 10?

7

What will you do to celebrate afterwards?

Relax and be with my family and friends.

What will you be thinking about as you freefall?

I hope there’s a long enough freefall to get over the fear and start feeling like a bird.

Anything else?

I would like to add that this is the easiest fundraising option for me, I’m much too lazy to run marathons! The ‘Help Us Be There’ campaign has been set up to support the rising Hospice at Home need. Hospice at Home provides vital end of life care, overnight, to patients in their own homes.The support of our team means that patients are able to spend their last days in the comfort of their home, knowing that everything possible will be done to help them die peacefully and with dignity.

Due to limited funding, each night the team is unable to provide care to one in three people referred to them, whose choice it is to remain at home. Difficult decisions have to be made every day, as to which patients and families need our support more, that night.

It costs £472 to fund one night of Hospice at Home care for each patient in Cambridgeshire. We want to fund an additional 200 nights of care over the next year, so we can be there for more families and patients who need us.

If you’d like to show your support for our brave #TeamArthur skydiver ahead of her Skydive Saturday 6th July please visit Ann’s online fundraising page: virginmoneygiving.com then look for Ann Read, where you can also leave a message of support.

We’ll catch up with Ann again after 6th July, but in the meantime, if you’ve been inspired to think about doing your own skydive, visit https://www.arhc.org.uk/jump.asp or call Carolyn on 01223 675890

If high velocity free-fall isn’t quite your thing, you can discover more about trekking, running, swimming and obstacle course challenges at https://www.arhc.org.uk/challenges.asp.