Adrian's skydive for MSA Trust

My Brother-in-Law, Alan Mangan, was finally officially diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) a rare neurological disease in 2023, after several years of not being able to determine what was causing the decline in his health.

MSA is a life limiting condition with no treatment or cure. Alan started to experience unsteadiness and occasional falls, and his mobility is significantly reduced. Alan is only 53 and he has slurred speech and suffers from cognitive decline.

Last year Alan became seriously sick and spent 3 months in Tallaght hospital. Thankfully he pulled through and Alan is hugely thankful to the dedicated team in Tallaght hospital and his family and friends for their support.

Following Alan's hospitalisation, he decided that he needed to raise awareness for MSA. He eventually came up with the idea to do sponsored skydives for the MSA Trust.

When he put this idea to his family and friends, we ‘jumped on board’ and decided that we would join Alan in his awareness campaign. This include me!

16 of us are doing a skydive fundraiser on Sunday 13th of April at the Clonbullogue Airfield, Edenderry, Co. Offaly with the Irish Parachute Club . Spectators are all welcome! https://skydive.ie/

This is where you lovely people come in – I need your help to raise money for the MSA Trust Charity.

Donations will go directly towards the MSA Trust UK & Ireland Charity. I will cover the cost of my skydive.

Thank you for your generosity and support in helping Alan, his friends and I to raise awareness and much needed funds for the MSA Trust.”

Thank you,

Adrian

So, what is MSA?

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurological disorder that affects adult men and women. It is caused by the loss of nerve cells in several areas of the brain. This can result in problems with movement, balance and autonomic functions of the body such as bladder and blood pressure control.

MSA is a rare disease with around 3,500 people in the UK and Ireland currently living with it. This means that most people will never have heard of the condition, unless they themselves have already met someone with MSA. Sadly, this is also true for a lot of health and care professionals which is why the MSA Trust works to raise awareness and increase understanding of MSA throughout the UK and Ireland.

Who are the Multiple System Atrophy Trust charity UK & Ireland? The Multiple System Atrophy Trust is the UK and the Republic of Ireland’s leading charity supporting people affected by multiple system atrophy (MSA) – a rare neurological disease with no known cause or cure.

They fund research into MSA and support those affected by the condition. They are also the principal funder in the UK & Ireland of innovative and ground-breaking research into Multiple System Atrophy. To date over €2 million has been spent by the Trust on research grants focused on MSA