Elizabeth's flying high after daring jump for charity

Teenager Elizabeth Bowyer took to the skies at the '¨weekend in a daring '¨fundraising skydive in '¨honour of her gran.

Before the adrenalin-busting tandem jump had taken place at Strathallan Airfield, Elizabeth (18) from Muirhead, had smashed 
her £2,500 target in aid of Alzheimer Scotland.

She is hoping donations will continue to fly in to help the 90,000 people in Scotland who are living with the disease.

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Elizabeth said: “I was eight my Gran was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s form of dementia. Over the long 10 years since then, she has very gradually become more and more unwell.

“She started forgetting what we had just been talking about, then she forgot our names, which is very difficult to understand at the age of 10. Then she forgot she ever had grandchildren and now she doesn’t recognise me at all.”

Elizabeth was one of 15 
fundraisers who took to the skies for the charity.

She said: “I wasn’t nervous at all beforehand, just incredibly excited. I had no idea what to expect.

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“I wasn’t scared of falling through the sky at over 120mph, more delighted at the prospect of seeing the gorgeous landscape from such a unique perspective.

“On the morning of the jump, we were shown by an instructor how to safely leave the aircraft, falling forward with the instructor secured behind us.

“The process of the jump was explained to us – we would freefall, then the instructor would open the parachute canopy, and then we would float down.

“Then the instructor 
described how we would land. The instructor would take the initial impact and we would land in front of them.

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“We reached an altitude of about 9,500-10,000ft and fell from the aircraft. It was absolutely exhilarating and when the canopy opened and we slowly made our way back down to the ground. It was breathtaking to see the sun on the lochs and the fields spreading out for miles. It was beautiful.

“It feels amazing to have so much fun at the same time as knowing so much money has been raised for a charity close to your heart.”

Daredevil Elizabeth added: “I will definitely skydive again, but I would also like to try bungee jumping, hang gliding and wingsuiting.

“A £15 donation can be spent on a face-to-face meeting between a dementia adviser and someone living with dementia, or their family, to provide support and understanding.

The Post Office at Muirhead is taking donations and you can also donate at www.justgiving.com/elizabeths
skydive

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