Dee's Blog Bit

Oh my god, what an absolutely amazing experience!

The feeling of complete freedom, as I was freefalling through the sky, above the clouds, was like nothing I've ever experienced before.
It's things like that make me acutely aware that I am indeed alive and kicking!

We dived out of the plane, at 13,500 feet..  head first, into nothingness. 
When we levelled off, it was like swimming through the sky..  The wind pressing on my face.
The parachute opened, at around 5000 feet.  It was so quiet and peaceful.  As we spiralled through the clouds, in the sunshine, people on the ground became more visible.. my family and friends, who had come along to lend their support.

My fear of heights and of flying were left behind somewhere on the ground, I think.
At no time was there a feeling of falling.  It was more a feeling of just being.. Being alive, doing something I never in my wildest dreams, thought I'd be able to do. 

The whole experience is something I really can't put into words. But I hope it's one I'll get the chance to re-live one day.

When I left the airfield, they gave me a magazine.  There's a quote in this magazine, by Richard Bach, that says..
"What are we doing here?
Overcoming the fear of death, of course.
Why are we in the air?
We are practising, you might say, what it is to be alive"

The videos of my jump can be seen Here (the 'official' video.. you need to fill the details in, including the 'optional' ones, to be able to view it).  And Here (a video kindly taken by a friend).

Weeeell, it's Friday 22nd September, and tomorrow, I'll be doing a 10,000 foot skydive/parachute jump at Langar Airfield, near Nottingham, to raise money for Breast Cancer Campaign!
The fact I'm terrified of heights, and not very keen on flying, is neither here nor there.. I'm very determined on this, and while I'm getting nervous about it, I'm really looking forward to it too!

I'm praying for good weather.. it's raining here at the minute, and I keep checking the BBC weather website every five minutes.  So far, it's saying it's going to be cloudy, but no rain.  Poor visibility though, which I wouldn't imagine is ideal for throwing oneself out of a plane!
Please wish some good weather for me!

I've recently set up a 'justgiving' page, which makes it super-easy for people to sponsor me online.  It's at.. http://www.justgiving.com/deesjump 
You can also see how much people have donated, and how things are going on my justgiving page.  Photos of the jump will also be posted there!

For now, I'd best be off.. I have to go into town to pay some sponsor money into the bank, and to get some chocolate and coke.. I've been told I'll need them, for the shock afterwards!

It's been a while since I last posted in my blog.  I'm so lazy with these things.. and I suppose I've been trying to get on with life too!

In the past couple of weeks, I've had a 'one year post-diagnosis' mammogram, ultrasound, and MRI scan of my boobs.  All came back 'normal', which was a huge relief!
These scans were only of the boob area, so I'm well aware it's no indication of what's going on in the rest of my body.  I just have to keep my fingers crossed that there's nothing bad going on in the rest of my body.

I'm still on the Herceptin journey.  I've had six doses now (one IV infusion, every three weeks), and will be having number seven next week.
They've all been relatively uneventful (thankfully).  The main drawbacks are waiting hours to see the oncologist, and the chemo nurses playing 'hunt the vein'.
I've had a few MUGA heart scans now, to keep a check on how my heart's coping with Herceptin, as it an cause heart damage and heart failure in some people.  But I was pleased to hear that my heart function doesn't seem to have decreased.

Love life..
James and me have been together just over six months now.
We're having a good time (at least I am.. I hope he is too!), and are hoping to be going on a cruise in October.  We should be booking it within the next few days, so I'm looking forward to that!

So, it's been a pretty good few weeks/months, all in all.. Long may it continue!