Fionnuala conquers her fears to raise over £2,000 for St Luke’s
Fionnuala Keane has completed her first charity skydive for St Luke’s Hospice, raising over £2,000 in memory of her mother‑in‑law, Mary.
Fionnuala arrived at Hinton Skydiving Centre, near Brackley in Northamptonshire, at 8am one Sunday earlier this month, hoping to jump early and avoid too much time dwelling on what lay ahead. But bad weather meant hours of waiting. Although the centre received the go‑ahead at around 1pm, she didn’t take to the skies until about 3pm.
“I had pretty much a sleepless night the night before, so I was hoping to get there, do the jump and get it over with,” she said. “When we got the go‑ahead I was so glad yet so nervous, but unfortunately we still had another couple of hours to wait. I’d arranged for my family to celebrate with me at lunch in a lovely country pub, so there was a bit of faffing about, trying to rearrange bookings until the evening.”
Before the jump, Fionnuala completed around 20 minutes of training on what to expect and how to position herself during the tandem skydive. Once fitted into her harness, she boarded the small aircraft with her instructor.
As the plane climbed to around 13,000 feet, the same weather that had caused the delay produced one of the day’s most memorable moments.
“The skies were just fantastic for my jump. Following a cold grey morning, the sky turned and became as clear as could be,” she said. “I was still really nervous, but once you’re up there and everything starts happening, you just go with it.”
Because she was so nervous, the instructors decided she would be the first person out of the plane.
“When it was time for me to jump, I had to shimmy over on my knees to the open door, dangle my legs out of the plane and wait for the tap from my instructor – and then that was it, I was off. It was so quick!”
For around 45 seconds, Fionnuala was in freefall, travelling at about 140mph.
“That was the most utterly terrifying bit,” she said. “When I was falling from the plane, I was so petrified, I thought I was going to die.”
However, once the parachute opened, everything changed. She spent another four minutes gliding peacefully back towards the ground.
“It was exhilarating, beautiful, and utterly peaceful. You’re looking at the world in a completely different way and it was just incredible. It was absolutely freezing up there, but the views were breathtaking. My family could see me coming down as well, which was really special.”
Fionnuala took on the challenge in memory of her mother‑in‑law, Mary Keane, who was cared for by St Luke’s Hospice. Her fundraising page remains open for anyone who would still like to donate.
Although she was left with a few bruises around her ribs and upper body from the harness, she wasn’t complaining.
“If it kept me alive, then that was fine by me!” she laughed.
Would she do it again?
“Probably not for a long time,” she said. “It was the most petrified I’d ever been, but the feeling of euphoria when it happened was fantastic. I’m so glad I did it. It was so great to do the jump and raise so much money for St Luke’s. I feel very proud of myself!”
You could take on a challenge of your own and help St Luke’s continue providing palliative and end of life care for people across Harrow and Brent.
Find out more about fundraising for St Luke’s.
