Pam heads for the sky… and back again

On Saturday week, 78-year-old Pam O’Connell will briefly hover above the Silvermines Mountains in Tipperary before plunging 12,000ft towards terra firma.

Acknowledging that she will be heavily reliant upon her instructor to guide her down, Pam, who lives on the coast road in Labasheeda, says that while she will be a bit apprehensive, her recovery from breast cancer has fuelled her motivation.
“I intended to do it quite a while ago, soon after I came out of St Luke’s, but I had further surgery unfortunately and I thought ‘I’m not able for it’,” Pam explained.
“But then this last six months or so I thought, ‘I’m getting stronger, I’ll go for it’ and the family supported me. I’m overwhelmed by the support and generosity I’ve had from so many people. The people of Labasheeda, the Brothers of Charity, whom my daughter works for, everybody,” she added.
Every cent raised will be donated to St Luke’s Hospital.
“I can’t thank St Luke’s enough for the treatment I had. Nothing is too much trouble.
“They were just fantastic to me. This is just a small way I have of thanking them for giving me my life back really. That’s what it amounts to,” Pam reflected.
Her late husband, Daniel O’Connell, was from Cahercon, Kildysart, and the couple moved to Clonkerry, Labasheeda, 17 years ago.
So far, nobody has tried to talk Pam out of taking the skydive.
“No, they haven’t tried to talk me out of it. They sort of say, ‘we think you’re a bit mad but you’re a brave woman’,” she said.
Originally from Sussex, Pam moved to Labasheeda with her late husband from their home in Coventry.
While she can’t wait to leap from the aeroplane, she would prefer to have it over and done with.
“The only time perhaps I might be nervous is when they circle for about a quarter of hour so they can get up high enough.
“I’d like to get it behind me as soon as possible. If they had said to me the day I was up there recently ‘right, we’ll jump now,’ I would have done it.
“Of course I’m apprehensive, it’s only natural but I don’t think I’ll have much choice when the time comes. The man behind me, hopefully he’ll be about 15 stone, he’ll go and I’ll go with him!” Pam laughed.
Two years ago Pam started to learn how to swim, albeit in the safety of a supervised pool.
“The nearest thing I’ve done to this is to learn to swim at 76, which I thought was some achievement.
“I thought I’d do that first because I’m frightened of water and when I’d reasonably conquered that, I’d go for the skydive,” she said.
Pam doesn’t look or sound 78 but she insists that she is.
“Well, I’m definitely 78,” she stated categorically, displaying the certainty she will need on Saturday week.
Sponsorship cards are available at Labasheeda Post Office, Casey’s Bar and The Hilltop in Coolmeen. Alternatively, visit www.mycharity.ie/event/nanas_charity_skydive/