My Mom taught me many things. Among them; not to bite my nails, how to operate a
washing machine, and that you don’t have to run a 5K to be proud you’ve finished it. The
most topical of these lessons is the value of pushing yourself to do things you never thought
you could, and the importance of doing those things to help others. She introduced me to
fundraising and we completed our first 5K for Cancer Research UK together back in 2013.
Ten years later, my Mom lost her own battle with cancer.
In her name, I promised myself to keep up the work we had been doing together. The run we
should’ve completed as a family in 2023 became a bittersweet affair, but alongside my sister
and some of Mom’s closest friends, we raised over £2,100. I knew how proud of us she
would’ve been. I also knew that the yearly fundraising tradition was not something she would
have us give up.
Over time, things escalated slightly from fun runs to full on bucket-list items. Having tackled
a skydive alongside The Katherine Allport Foundation, I thought the logical next step was
wing walking. I have Life Changing Challenges to thank for facilitating this when they
advertised a wing walk for St Giles Hospice, a charity who’d played an integral role in
supporting my Mom since her diagnosis. It was perfect. A suitable sequel to our previous
fundraiser? Check. Doable as a duo? Check. Slightly insane? Check.
My sister and I rolled up to AeroSuperBatics’ base in April 2024, and though my fear of
planes made no attempt to hide itself, at least the skydive gave me the opportunity to exit it
quite swiftly... Being strapped to a plane was quite literally what we’d signed up for, but
acknowledging that did nothing to soothe the nerves. Thankfully, the team were immensely
friendly, and we received so much support and encouragement from both St Giles and Life
Changing Challenges. The experience was unlike anything else, and the both of us felt so
proud to not only have faced a fear, but to have raised £1,775 while doing it. I could picture
Mom so clearly then, with the biggest grin you could imagine, and arms open wide to greet
us on the ground. We got the sense that in that moment, we had done something truly good.
In the aftermath, we were given the opportunity to share our family’s story, and that’s
something I am endlessly grateful for.
Our return to Life Changing Challenges in 2025 is testament to how much we’d enjoyed
ourselves, and this time we chose to give the ‘Highland Swing’ a go. On the 16 th of August,
we made the pilgrimage to Killiecrankie and got harnessed up. ‘It’ll be fine!’, ‘You’ve got this’,
‘Just think – after this you can have a drink’ are phrases that made up most of our
conversations as my sister, my Mom’s best friend, and I stood waiting for our turn on the
bridge. After stepping onto the platform with the legs of a newborn foal, hearing ‘countdown
or surprise?’ was enough to send my heart into overdrive. A ‘3,2,1’, the clink of a releasing
carabiner, and down you go. The rush of freefall, the sinking sensation in your stomach that
seems to last a lifetime, and – at last – the relief of the swing catching you at the bottom and
carrying you over the River Garry. It was exhilarating. Entirely worth every moment of fear
we experienced in the lead up.
We can’t thank our friends, family, and supporters enough for helping us raise £1,350 (and
counting!) for St Giles this year. Through Life Changing Challenges, we’ve found new,
exciting, and often terrifying ways to raise money in memory of our Mom. In doing these
fundraisers, it really feels like we keep a huge part of her alive. Her courage in the face of
adversity was always something I’d admired, and to have the opportunity to display even half
of that spirit is my greatest privilege.
So, I suppose of all the lessons my Mom taught me, the one I now value most is to always
be brave and to reach for the sky – even if you’re falling from it.
Guest blogger - Katie Phillips
