Grandma who lost her legs because of rare blood clot skydived 15,000 feet out of a plane to fund her independence
A woman whose legs were amputated due to a rare blood clot took part in a tandem skydive to fund her independence.
Head of client relations for a financial company, Jo Spencer, 55, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was devastated when a blood clot in her main aorta artery cut off the blood supply to her legs – leaving surgeons with no choice but to amputate them.
In June 2021, Jo and her husband David, 54, director of a financial company, started fundraising to give Jo back her independence, raising £25,000 towards life changing home renovations.
Now, the mum to Holly, 26, a customer service operator, Josh, 22, a help desk analyst, and Ben, 18, who is on a gap year, and grandmother to Theo, four, Harlow, two and Piper, 14 weeks, has taken part in a tandem skydive raising enough funds to start her home renovation in January 2023.
“I got over those initial fears of ‘God I’m going to die’ because it got rescheduled a few times,” laughed Jo.
“Then I was really excited about doing it. It was absolutely awesome, the skies had cleared and the sun was starting to set.”
She added: “I would recommend it to anybody.”
After being diagnosed with type one diabetes aged seven, Jo was in good health when, in May 2020, she noticed the toes on her left foot turning black and blue.
“As soon as I saw my left foot there was a part of me that knew I was going to lose it,” she said.
“I suffered from sores on my feet and legs from my diabetes, but this time my left big toe was black and blue. It looked really bad.”
Admitted for surgery that month, surgeons amputated Jo’s left leg below the knee, only for her to wake from the operation and start experiencing pain in her right leg just hours after surgery.
She said: “The whole time I just kept thinking, ‘I’ve got my other leg so it’s all going to be OK’.”
She added: “But I started to feel pain in my right leg. At first, it felt like the nerve pain sciatica, or a muscle ache, but when I told the nurses they called the doctors right away.
“My right leg was going cold and I was losing my pulse, so I was taken back to theatre for investigative surgery to see if they could save it.”
Sadly, Jo’s condition deteriorated rapidly until her life hung in the balance.
“I don’t remember much as I was on a lot of pain medication,” she said.
“They called David on May 13 2020 and said, ‘We have to amputate the right leg now.’
“It was horrific. I had no idea what was going on. I only knew what had happened when I woke in hospital from surgery. I was distraught.”
Since June 2021, Jo and her husband have been fundraising to make life changing alterations to their home.
“At the moment David has to carry me up the stairs to bed every night,” explained Jo.
“The whole point of the alterations is to make our home safe and to enable me to do all the things everybody else does independently.”
While the family worked hard to finance the urgent home renovation, Jo focused on her recovery.
“The ultimate goal is walking without help,” said Jo.
“At the moment I’m able to walk with one stick and hold David’s hand. I feel like I just want to let go of David’s hand and just walk, but I haven’t got confidence to take that initial step.”
She added: “I think I’m a bit tough on myself, sometimes I think ‘why am I not walking yet?’
“But David always reminds me how far I’ve come. He put the videos together of my progress and it was a real boost for me.
“We put it on YouTube and I got so many lovely comments from people.”
And in October last year, Jo decided to take part in a tandem skydive to raise money for the home renovations.
“I’ve always wanted to skydive since I was young,” explained Jo.
“Then in October 2021, my son, Ben, wanted to do a skydive for his 21st and I thought I could do it too and raise money.”
She added: “So I rang Sky High Skydiving in Shotton Colliery, Durham, and asked if this is something I could do as a bilateral amputee.
“There was a remote possibility I would fall out the harness, but Sky High were amazing and they designed a harness so I couldn’t fall out.
“However, my GP refused to sign me off for the jump.”
She added: “I was really upset at that point because I felt fit and healthy. So I searched for an aviation medical examiner and he signed me off to jump.”
And on November 12 2022, Jo jumped out of a plane at 15,000 feet.
“When we were dangling over the plane I had that moment where I thought ‘I don’t know whether I can do this’,” said Jo.
She added: “But I’m stubborn and determined and thought ‘no, I’m going to do this jump come hell or high water.’
“Then we were falling to the ground at 120mph. In that moment, I thought, ‘oh my god, I’m actually doing this.’
“Then my instructor deployed the shoot and we slowed down quite dramatically. It’s just really quiet and calm.”
She added: “I was just floating in the air, it was phenomenal.”
And alongside her daredevil stunts, Jo has even started scuba diving.
“I have this irrational fear of sharks because I watched Jaws at a very young age,” said Jo.
She added: “I love swimming but I was very concerned about freaking out underwater, but the instructors at Scuba Diver Training in Durham were amazing.
“But once I was in there it was amazing. I just felt like everybody else again. I’m now thinking about doing my PADI open water qualifications.
“But I have to think about it as its more open water swimming; and I’m not sure I could do that.”
However, the real icing on the cake for the family is that renovations can start on their home in January 2023, giving Jo back her independence.
“The work begins in the second week of January,” said Jo.
“We self-funded a lot of it, but £15,000 was from the GoFundMe and then the rest was from donations and fundraising.”
She added: “We’ve raised nearly £25,000, but the final renovations will cost £140,000. We had to self fund the rest of the money.
“It’s a fair old amount. I’m so thankful to the people that helped us get to this point.
“We’re getting everything done at the same time. We have to move out for three months so we might end up in a caravan or tent.”
“But it’s worth it to have a home I can be independent in. It’s going to be life changing.”
To donate to Jo’s fundraiser, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/help-jo-live-in-our-home.
