Juliet St John Nicolle (54), who was diagnosed with Autism when she was 50, will be braving the tandem jump at the end of next month to raise money for Autism Jersey.
And she is no stranger to daunting firsts, having previously taken part in Dip at Dawn in April despite having never swum in the sea before and the L’Etacq and Back walk, both of which were in aid of the charity.
Referring to the skydive, Miss St John Nicolle said: ‘This will be an immense challenge for me because I have sensory issues around sight, noise, hearing and touch.’
She also has the added challenge of her fear of heights and as she has never been in a small plane before she says it is very likely that she will also feel claustrophobic.
‘I have very large issues with trust, so jumping out with a guy with me attached is one hell of a humdinger thing,’ she said. In preparation for the skydive Miss St John Nicolle has also met with the Skydive Jersey team so she will know what to expect on the day.
She is taking part in the event in support of Karen Gallichan, the manager of the Autism Jersey Boutique in Bath Street, who is preparing to swim the Channel this September to raise £10,000 to fund life enhancing opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum. Her swim is being sponsored by Santander International.
Miss St John Nicolle said: ‘I want to take on this challenge to support Karen Gallichan who is swimming the Channel. She is doing this to set up a bursary for autistic adults like me to have the opportunity to do things in life which are often taken for granted and I would like to have a special wow moment memory.’
Miss St John Nicolle is due to jump with Skydive Jersey on Sunday 24 June 2018 at 2 pm. Anyone who wishes to donate can do so by visiting justgiving.com and searching for her name.
