Our Jump To Help Stef Beat Lyme
Donation protected
A note from James:
On Sunday the 14th August , if you look up in the sky somewhere around the south west of England, chances are you might see me hurtling towards the ground like a giant lead weight!
For those of you not in the U.K, whilst you may not be able to see my lifeless body free falling at over 120mph, you’ll be sure to hear my screams...no matter how far away you are!
Having already jumped out of a plane once before, I leapt (no pun intended), at the opportunity to do it again, this time with the added bonus of raising some money for a very good cause close to my heart!
For those of you that don’t know, my partner’s daughter has long term Lyme disease, so I am raising money to help fund a very important medical trip for them to the USA!
The money raised from this jump will go towards their trip and medical bills, this in turn will hopefully go some way towards helping to build a degree of normality in their fight against this awful condition!
No matter how big or small the donations, to quote my friends at Tesco ‘Every little helps’, and if for some reason my jump takes a turn for the worst I may have to do another form of activity later on to cover my own medical bills!
-James
A note from Lucy:
So as you may or may not know, my daughter Stef has been fighting late stage Lyme disease for the last 7 years. We were lucky enough to find a fantastic specialist in Washington DC, who we fundraised to see 3 years ago; he has been treating Stef ever since. They have made amazing progress so far, but our journey was hugely affected by the hit of Covid, meaning that we haven’t been able to go back since October 2019. The clinic now needs us to go back so they can physically see Stef, but sadly it all comes at a huge cost.
I know times are super hard for everyone, at the moment especially, so I thought that I should do something personally that pushes my fears to the
extreme, in a bid to raise the much needed funds to support Stef in their journey to health.
Those of you that know me will know that I have a massive fear of heights, I don’t like flying and I’m def not an adrenaline junky !!
Stef has bravely faced every challenge their health and treatment journey have thrown at them so far- from massive treatment cycles that leave them bed bound, to cutting nearly all the things they loved from their diet and detoxing constantly.
It seems only right that I now challenge myself in complete support for them on this journey - so I’m jumping out of a plane
Myself and my partner will be skydiving on Saturday 2nd July somewhere over the south west, in a crazy attempt to raise much needed money that
can support Stef’s journey to health whilst raising awareness and support for Lyme Disease UK.
Every single penny will be put towards fighting Lyme disease and continuing Stef’s treatment and every donation will make a difference- thank you all for your continued support and love; it literally means the world
-Lucy
A note from Stef:
My name is Stef, I’m 25, I live in the UK and I have late stage neurological Lyme Disease (Neuroborreliosis). This happens when Lyme
disease goes untreated long enough for it to begin attacking your central nervous system. In 2019 I had to fundraise to see a specialist in Washington DC, I managed to raise just enough for the trip and have been in treatment since. I’m so grateful for everyone who donated to make treatment possible in the first place, I would not be where I am today otherwise. Treatment has been rough, it’s had its ups and downs, but overall my doctor and I are so impressed with my progress. I have kept in regular contact with my doctor, but because of coronavirus it has been unsafe for me to travel, so we have been doing virtual appointments (which thankfully has made treatment more affordable).
Now it has been 3 years and I’ve moved onto the maintenance phase of treatment, a huge milestone (which means we’re encouraging the immune
system, which is still fragile but now active, to do most of the heavy lifting with the antibiotics serving as a reminder to it), my doctor in DC wants
my next appointment to be in person. It’s still a risk travelling, but I understand my doctor hasn’t seen me in 3 years, so needs to see me in person for their own evaluations. This means that I need to raise the funds to see my specialist in DC in order to continue treatment.
As well as my own fundraiser, I’m also raising funds for Lyme Disease UK.
Lyme Disease is a global epidemic with little public awareness, which means many people are unaware it exists, so don’t know what to look out for in terms of prevention or miss the treatment window (as in my case) and are forced to travel to the specialists across the world, who are few and far between. Lyme Disease UK provide much needed awareness and guidance.
Covid has many people appreciating the outdoors more, so more people are being bitten by ticks and infected. Awareness is needed now more than ever.
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, so Lyme Disease UK is doing their yearly #WakeUpToLyme campaign and #LightUpForLyme.
More information can be found on their websites LymeDiseaseUK.com and WakeUpToLyme.com
I’d be extremely grateful if you could support me (and Lyme Disease UK) on the next step in my journey.
The money will enable me to continue my treatment and give back to the charity that supported me.
If you want to read my full story, you can do that here:
gofundme.com/helpstephbeatlyme
Thank you.
Stef (previously spelled Steph)
Organizer
Stef May
Organizer