A SPECIALIST nurse from Bradford has conquered her biggest fear to raise enough money to fund a new specialist nurse in the city.

 

Liz Watson, a specialist multiple sclerosis nurse, did a skydive from 15,000 feet at the Black Knights airfield in Lancashire to raise funds for the MS Trust.

 

The nurse, who works at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, raised more than £5,000 for the charity, which will help bring an additional specialist MS nurse to Bradford.

 

Ms Watson, who has worked in Bradford for more than 20 years, has a fear of flying, but did the skydive after being inspired by watching Paralympians with MS and the people she works with on a daily basis.

 

She said: “I felt like I wanted to give something back, while also raising awareness of MS and the work of the MS Trust.

 

“My patients, and the many other people with MS, have inspired me in so many ways.

 

“Most people with MS and their families, face many challenges on a daily basis and often remind me how much we take for granted each day.

 

“After watching Paralympians who have MS like Stephanie Millward and Kadeena Cox at the Paralympics in Rio last year, I decided to challenge myself to face my fear of flying. A skydive seemed like the perfect way to do that.”

 

Ms Watson currently supports over 700 people living with MS in the Bradford area on her own.

 

“Getting a new MS nurse will make such a difference to people with MS in Bradford,” she added.

 

“We will be able to offer a much more responsive service and increase the number of people we can see in our clinics.”

 

She also thanked the people who sponsored her for the challenge.

 

“It was genuinely one of the most frightening experiences of my life.

 

“Thank you so much to all of those who have sponsored me. The support has been truly overwhelming and your money will absolutely be put to very good use by the MS Trust.”

 

Bradford is one of the first locations to benefit from the MS Trust’s nurse funding programme, which is working with the NHS to bring new MS nurses to places in areas of need.

 

These nurse are vital to people with MS, helping them deal with diagnosis, and adjust to life with an incurable, sometimes debilitating disease and make difficult treatment choices.

 

Without an MS nurse people with MS can be left to deal with this unpredictable disease alone, and may have to rely on expensive emergency care for their treatment.