A 17 year- old girl from Huntingdon will be taking to the skies next Sunday (July 21) to raise funds for a charity which means a great deal to her. Anastacia Aldrich will be doing a sky dive for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, who have provided her with information and emotional support since she was diagnosed with auto-immune hepatitis when she was 12.
“It’s very tough being diagnosed with a rare lifelong condition at that age,” says Anastacia. “So many people just have no idea what you are going through. However, CLDF were there for me and put me in touch with other young people who live with liver disease. I even joined them for a film-making workshop last year with other teenagers. I not only met other people who understood me, but I was able to show my film at school to explain what it’s like to live with liver disease.
“The team were also there for my parents. I think it was just as tough for them and I know that my mum in particular appreciated a calm and reassuring voice on the end of the phone when she was having a bad day.”
Keen to give something back, Anastacia was thrilled when the opportunity to do a sky dive arose and has even done an indoor sky dive as practice. Now she can’t wait for the big day.
“I’m really excited,” she says. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do and to raise money for a cause which means so much to me makes it even better.”
Alison Taylor, Chief Executive of Children’s Liver Disease Foundation commented: “CLDF is the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases, by providing information and emotional support, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. In order to do this however, we rely on voluntary donations, so we are delighted that Anastacia has decided to do this for us. I’m sure it will be an amazing experience for her, and the funds she raises will enable us to continue to support young people like Anastacia around the UK.”
You can support Anastacia’s sky dive by going to: