Finally, on Friday 4 September, Danny, who managed to maintain his new weight throughout lock-down, succeeded in jumping 10,000 feet during 30 seconds free-fall and three minutes under a parachute.
He has raised over £500 for Muscular Dystrophy UK, towards research funding. Step-dad Peter Neville, who lives with Charcot-Marie-tooth muscular dystrophy said:
Danny’s first words after the jump were: Can I do this again for MDUK?
I am super proud of him. He is already talking about doing another jump, but not at 10,000 feet. This time he wants to go 150,00ft, which is just under three miles! He has turned into a real adrenaline junkie!
Peter commented that the North London parachute club, situated in the heart of the fens of East Anglia, Chatteris, had very well-organised staff, instructors and pilot.
We did the jump on the first possible date after lockdown eased. Danny jumped from the second full plane to take off with jumpers.
Danny was originally allowed to sign up for the jump by going from a 17st 43″ waist, down to just under 12st and a waist of 30. Peter said:
It took Danny four years to reduce his weight to 11st 6lbs, and then he had to wait from this March to September to be allowed to do it.
Danny had dreamt of jumping after seeing a skydive while out fishing near Ely. That was Spring 2016 and motivated him into committing to a diet and regular exercise.
He said:
Last year it was finally becoming a reality and I said to Peter ‘look, I can do this now’. Pete said I could do it for the charity and checked out the MDUK website. Bring it on.
Peter runs a CMT support group on Facebook which has over 1,400 members.
He said:
We now have three private chat groups – men, women and teens through (to their) twenties – all offering support with mental health and other issues arising from CMT.
CMT is a progressive condition where symptoms including muscle weakness and numbness start to appear between the ages of five and 15, but these can develop until middle age or older.
You can still support Danny by donating through his JustGiving page.