Vicki’s Abseil for Jack and Julia’s House!

On the 21st April 2024, I am going to abseil off the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth… it does seem quite an extreme way of getting an hour’s ‘me’ time I know!!!!

This month marks a year of our involvement with the incredible charity Julia’s House. To mark this moment, as well as thank them for being the most incredible collective of human beings on this planet, I would like to raise money for this amazing charity as well as raise a little bit to assist us in equipping Jack to ensure he is open to every trip to the beach, mud or snow that there is!!!

There are very few scary, dark, staring into the abyss moments that happen in our lives. We unfortunately all experience them on one or two occasions, however, there are fewer darker and deeper than the prospect of losing your child.

This happened to us in January 2023. We were told that Jack’s C1 vertebrae had slipped forward onto his spinal cord. Without surgery, Jack was given a 6 to 12 month life expectancy. Everything stops, you barely function, let alone hold it together for the rest of the family and work.

Out of this darkness however came amazing family and friends (you know who you are!) and a collective of the most kind, compassionate, caring, professional and dedicated people that we have ever met in the form of Julia’s House. They were there for us from the start - suggesting, advising, guiding and supporting us every step of the way.

As you are reading this now, their hospice staff are providing respite sessions in families’ homes or hospital to give parents a much needed break or time with their other children, they are providing whole days at the hospices with activities for children with life limiting conditions, their sibling support workers are going in to homes to support the siblings of those affected or organising fun activities or days out for siblings, their complimentary therapist is supporting the whole family with several different treatments and they are providing access to counselling for members of the family, to help them to continue to put one foot in front of the other. Just quietly making the hugest impact with so many families in Wiltshire and Dorset.

During this fundraising effort, now that Jack has this second chance of life following life saving neck surgery, we would also dearly like to provide Jack with some of the equipment he will need in the future to allow him to explore the world.

With hugest thanks, if nothing else, for getting to the bottom of this (!) and also, I really am hugely grateful for any support you are able to give.