Deepdale woman to skydive in memory of late mother who battled with Huntington’s

Hollie being held by her mum Emma when she was born

Prestonian Hollie Johnstone is completing a fundraiser in memory of her mother Emma who died of Huntington’s Disease in 2018.

Deepdale-based Hollie will be completing a tandem skydive at 15,000 feet, reaching up to 120 miles an hour, to raise funds for the Huntington’s Disease Association.

She will bravely complete the skydive with her best friend Jake Ashworth and his mum Lisa Kennedy.

The charity means so much to Hollie as she has Juvenile Huntington’s.

She was a carer for her mum until she died.

She said: “I’m 24 and I only have 10 to 15 years of my life left without any treatment.

“It’s really hard to be honest. It affects memory, eating and drinking. I’m constantly being sick and people think I’m on drink or drugs and often I’m scared to go out because I always get someone talking about me, laughing at me or staring at me.”

Hollie completed a charity challenge last year, and says she will continue to raise awareness of the disease.

She continued: “I want to raise more awareness about Huntington’s and raise money for the charity as they do so much – they help, do visits and offer support.

“I can’t believe how much money my sister and I have raised so far. I’m going to be screaming my head off all the way.

“I’m not going to stop fighting this illness, raising money and awareness until I die.

“My mum would’ve done the exact same for me if it was the other way round so I wanted to support her. We did bond a lot through me caring for her.

“My mum was such an amazing person and she was my best friend. She went out of her way to help me. She worked about three jobs to be able to get us whatever we wanted.

“She always went all out. She used to go all out at Easter, buy us teddies on Valentine’s, and spoil us rotten on every occasion.

“Even when she was in palliative care she had a smile on her face. She loved everyone.”

Hollie will be completing the skydive on 30 April.

You can donate to Hollie’s fundraiser here.

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