The sky’s the limit!

At the age of 80, Ian Tighe-Ford, who lives with MS, decided to sail up, up and away

I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) 15 years ago. I can still walk, with the aid of a walker, up to about 50 yards, and any further and I use a wheelchair.

Not long ago, I was feeling bored sitting in a comfortable chair and watching telly. So, I decided to do something about it. And it certainly wasn’t boring!

It took me a while to organise my new adventure, but it was well worth the wait. So, there I was again, sitting, or lounging, in a different chair. This one was also comfortable, but it was several hundred feet above Lake Windermere in the Lake District!

It’s called paragliding, and I’m a fan. Apparently, it is classed as an ‘extreme’ sport and I accept that it can be dangerous if you are an idiot and don’t follow expert advice. But I like to think that I’m not an idiot.

I was passenger on a tandem glide. My pilot, Josh, is the experienced son of Jocky Sanderson who is recognised worldwide as one of the best – probably the best – paragliding instructor. At the time of writing this he is coach to the British paragliding team and has been the sport’s world champion. So, I was very safe.

Birthday gift

Back to Lake Windermere. My wife Chris had given me the glide as an 80th birthday present. She drove me to the office of Escape Paragliding Ltd in Keswick where we met Josh. He took us in his Land Rover to the take-off point on top of a hill, then showed me where I would be sitting. It looked like an elongated wheelchair. Josh steadied me as I straddled the wheelchair, then lowered me onto the seat, which was surprisingly comfortable.

I waited in the chair while Josh laid out the 40-foot wing behind me. Then he trotted a few yards with the wheelchair until the wind caught the wing, and jumped up behind me, and we were off! My wife and godson James were soon well below us, and I had begun to learn what it means to fly like a bird.

Bird’s eye view

The Lake District is widely recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty and that is very obvious from on high with not even a pane of glass to get in the way. And there was no noisy, smelly diesel or petrol engine to disturb the peace. So, I was able to chat with Josh just behind me without raising my voice.

These glides usually last 20 to 40 minutes, but Josh had kindly agreed to extend that to an hour if conditions were favourable. However, the wind had speeded up after our take-off and Josh, ever safety conscious, decided to end our glide after about 40 minutes and land nearer Keswick in a sheltered field. We landed there with a gentle bump and that was the end of a truly memorable experience.

MS is not much fun, but I have got the message loud and clear that life with MS can still be good. Very good.

Virtually anyone, even those who use a wheelchair, can enjoy a paraglide with Josh and his special wheelchair. If necessary, you can be lifted up and lowered to a comfortable chair. Then, whoosh for a grandstand view of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

When I was a youngster of 70, I did a skydive for what was then my local MS therapy centre and raised about £2,000 for them. Then, in my late 70s, I did a novice wing walk. That meant I could do an aerobatic wing walk with both a loop and barrel roll. Between them, the walks raised £4,882 which was shared equally between the MS Society and Cancer Research UK.

My 2nd wing walk was without doubt my most challenging experience. At times, I was hanging upside down from the upper wing if a 1942 biplane flying at up to 140mph before entering a loop followed by a barrel roll. But it was the wind gusting at up to 40mph on that windy day that threw me about in my harness without mercy. That really got to me.

If you want to read more about those efforts, you will have to buy a book called MS A Funny Thing (well sometimes!). Its editor Nigel Bartram spent 10 years identifying people with MS who’d had funny or interesting experiences as a result of their MS, then persuaded them all to write about them.

I was introduced to Nigel at this stage and offered a chapter. He assembled everything into the book which has colour illustrations and is now available to order online from Amazon at £11.95 for the paperback or £4.95 for the electronic version. All royalties will go to MS charities.

It was Nigel’s article about his paraglide next to Table Mountain in South Africa which inspired me to have a go myself. So, I booked my glide in our Lake District. The rest is as above.

So don’t just sit there feeling sorry for yourself. Life is good if you make good use of what’s available to us all despite our problems. And money need not be a problem either. Organise sponsorship so that your chosen charity pays the bill and receives your sponsors’ money. It really can be win-win. It’s so much more satisfying to receive admiration for your achievement (and you will) rather than sympathy for your problems. You will be able to look yourself in the eye and say “I have done my best.” Enjoy life, and good luck!

I would love to hear that you found my story interesting and, even better, that it has encouraged you to have a go yourself. If not, go on, try it. It will be a great experience and do wonders for your morale.