A WOMAN who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at just 26 is planning to take part in a 10,000 feet tandem skydive to raise funds for the charity which has supported her.

Sherry Gibbon, who lives in Rillington, was confined to a wheelchair just months after first learning she had MS in 1993.

Over the 19 years since her diagnosis, the disease has slowly taken away Sherry’s ability to use her legs and arms. But she considers herself lucky as many others lose much more.

She said: “I still have my sight and the power of speech and I still have my real friends, and the love of my husband Terry.

“One of the most important things in my life in the last 19 years has been the MS Society whose work, both in the field of research and the promotion of better social care for all disabled, has made, and continues to make, a massive difference for about 100,000 MS sufferers.”

Husband Terry said their lives had changed dramatically with Sherry transformed from a hard-working young woman into someone completely dependent on other people.

“When we found out she had MS we were running the White Swan pub at Newton-upon-Rawcliffe and Sherry was very hands-on, working in the kitchen and bar,” he said.

“She went down hill very, very rapidly and within six months was in a wheelchair and just managed to walk down the aisle when we married in the September.”

The couple were forced to leave the pub and moved to Rillington in 1999 with Terry becoming Sherry’s full-time carer.

“A while ago Sherry saw someone who was paraplegic doing a tandem skydive and she said that was one sport she could go,” Terry said.

“Earlier this year, she decided it was time to do it and raise money for the charity which has done so much to help us.”

Terry said when they first found out that Sherry had MS they had not known which way to turn.

“We have had so much support from the MS Society, including the Ryedale branch. They are such an excellent organisation and we have a lot to thank them for,” he added.

The couple are also organising a dinner and charity auction on Saturday, October 27, at The Fleece in Rillington.

Tickets are £25 including a three-course dinner and chance to win a case of wine worth £100.

Musical entertainment will be provided by local singer Mark Atkinson.

Sherry said she was ‘very excited’ about the skydive at Bridlington airfield on October 20.

“I have been sitting for so long that I am really looking forward to the freefall and the feeling of weightlessness which I haven’t felt for such a long time,” she said. “It really will be the experience of a lifetime.”

Anyone who would like to sponsor Sherry can phone The Fleece on 01944 758464 or email info@thefleece-rillington.co.uk