Claire's Courageous Charity Abseil

Ever agreed to something which you later regret? Well I had that feeling recently and here's my story.

I am a committee member for the Suffolk Area Association for CSSC. I was at one of our meetings a couple of months ago and it was felt the Area Association could offer more support to charity events. That same week, I had read in the local paper about a company offering people a chance to abseil down Ipswich Hospital Maternity Block. The equipment and instruction would be provided. All the company asked in return was that the individual pay a small application fee and raise as much money as possible for a charity chosen by the participant. Well, I thought this would be a great opportunity for Suffolk AA. The committee decided to offer a £5 subsidy to members to help towards the application fee. Unfortunately, I was the only committee member deemed half fit enough (or mad, depending on your point of view!) to put their name forward as a participant. I couldn't back out now, so I set about raising funds for Help for Heroes.

The day of the abseil arrived. My time slot was between 3pm and 4pm. I couldn't settle all day, pacing up and down nervously throughout the morning. I finally arrived at Ipswich Hospital at 2.45pm and, as I stood at the foot of the building, I said to myself, "What a stupid girl you are, what on earth possessed you to say you would do this?" I genuinely thought about backing out of the event but deep down I knew I couldn't, as I had raised too much money. Plus, it was announced that morning on the news that two more soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan, so it put what I was about to do into perspective.

I climbed into two harnesses, provided with gloves and a helmet and was told to follow the instructor up into the lift, then up the escape hatch and onto the roof. One quick briefing on what to do, then a final check of the safety equipment - the harness was tightened so much I could barely breathe. Before I knew it, I was standing on the ledge. People have asked me, "What was the view like up there?" What I say in reply is: "Have you ever stood on a ledge 130 feet high!? "Admiring the view was the last thing on my mind - I didn't even look down to what must have looked like ants (people) down on the ground. I was purely focused on looking at the instructor and trying to listen to what he was telling me to do. I shuffled slowly backwards to the ledge so that my heels were hanging over the edge. Unfortunately, my brain wasn't processing what the instructor was saying because when I was supposed to lean back so that the rope took the pressure, I somehow stumbled and ended up just dangling off the side of the building, with just a piece of rope holding me. (Now I knew why the harness was so tight!) Thankfully, my feet touched a small ledge but before I could catch my breath, I heard "smile for the camera." Smile for the camera? "You have got to be joking", I thought, "I have just had the most terrifying experience of my life and you want me to smile. Well, they got one, but it was through gritted teeth.

After that, I decided I wanted to get down as quickly as possible, so I wasn't going to go down one step after another. Now I'm not saying I did the abseil Mission Impossible style, i.e. bouncing in and off the wall/rope. Far from it! I merely let the rope pass through my fingers slowly, so I went straight down. After what seemed to be eternity, my feet finally touched the ground, not that I had much feeling in my legs. I had to have another photo taken (this time by friends and family) and then it was off to get my certificate, which I will treasure for many years to come.

It took me a good couple of hours before I could hold a cup (alright, it was a bottle) in my hand to toast my achievement as the adrenalin was still pumping. Once I had finally calmed down, my only regret was that I didn't try to enjoy the experience a bit more. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

With the support of the Suffolk AA, I raised in total £705 for Help for Heroes. I would like to thank everyone for their support, but mainly their money cos if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have overcome one of my fears - heights. Well, when I say overcome, I think that is probably a bit optimistic as I can safely say abseiling won't be featuring on my hobby list! Nevertheless, I'm very proud of my achievement and would recommend everyone to give it a try.

A tandem parachute jump has been suggested for next year - I will ensure I don't put my hand up for that one!

Claire

Committee Member.