Alisha Brookes, a 21-year-old travel consultant from Macclesfield, celebrated her birthday with a daring bungee jump from the iconic Verzasca Dam in Switzerland, famously featured in the James Bond film GoldenEye. She leapt from the 220-metre-high dam to raise funds for East Cheshire Hospice, honouring the memory of her grandmother, Eileen Burgess, who was a patient there nearly a year ago.
Her courageous stunt has already generated over £1,500 for the charity. Alisha shared her experience, saying, "The hospice gave incredible care to my grandma, supporting our family through a tough time. They also made sure my grandad, Trevor, was comfortable as well. I wanted to give something back and plan more fundraising for them."
Despite her initial fear, Alisha mustered the courage to jump. "I was too scared to jump at first and seeing others before me didn't help. But after a few attempts, and some deep breaths, I went over the edge. The dam is 220 metres high and there was a freefall of seven and a half seconds before the cord caught up," she recounted.
Her family, including parents Tracy and Adrian, brother Nathan, and boyfriend Aaron Ollier, were present to support her. "They gave me a pep talk. I've done skydiving before, but this was different and it went quiet during the freefall," Alisha added.
This jump is not her first extreme challenge. For her 18th birthday, she skydived; for her 19th, she performed a wing walk; and last year, she completed paraglide and paramotor flights. "They were great experiences, but this was the big one," she said.
To sponsor Alisha, visit her JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/alisha-brookes-1.
