In an autumnal morning sky, Nicola Henderson, 17, jumped out of an airplane at 10,000 ft. and free fell at over 120 miles per hour for five thousand feet, harnessed to a professional parachute instructor, returning to earth to the cheers of those below.
What made this jump so outstanding is Nicola, a beautiful young lady with a charming personality, has Usher syndrome. Usher is a genetic condition causing deafness from birth and sight loss, leading to blindness, from late teens. But Nicola is determined not to let her disability ruin her life.
Nicola was diagnosed with Usher syndrome when she was 15 and initially felt scared and alone. “I felt no one understood the problems I faced. “Sense enabled me to meet other deafblind people, which helped me come to terms with my deafblindness. I wanted to take this opportunity to raise money for deafblind people less fortunate than me and make people aware of this disability and organization.” Nicola’s October 7th jump raised £1,000 for Sense.org.
“I would like to be a positive role model for other deafblind people, showing them that they can’t let their disability rule their life and if there is something they want to do then they need to get out and do it! I have 10 GCSEs [academic honors], a part time job in Safeway, I love swimming and want to be a TV presenter – I won’t let anything stop me!