Disease, Disease


Disease, Disease

Disease, disease you crept into my life when I was nine
Disease, disease you laughed when they called you benign
Disease, disease you mocked me when I believed your lies
But disease, disease she saw the truth burning behind your eyes

Still disease, disease you sent a thousand daggers all my way
Still disease, disease you left me dripping blood each hospitalised day
Still disease, disease you played tricks on my mind for your final blow
But disease, disease, you failed to realise you still have one last foe

Listen disease, disease after eleven years it has come down to this
Listen disease, disease after all your hits from your blazing fists
Listen disease, disease, you may have picked on a helpless son
But you keep on forgetting that you have one weakness, my mum.

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Saturday 19th May 2018 marks ‘World Inflammatory Bowel Disease 2018’.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, which affects 300,000 people in the United Kingdom and millions more worldwide.           

I have Crohn’s disease. Through the good times and the bad, my mum has always been there. Thank you Mum and thank you for your support too.


You have one weakness, my mum...Copyright © 2018- Tim Foster. All rights reserved.   

Why I am skydiving for Crohn’s and Colitis UK and Dyspraxia Foundation


Why I am skydiving for Crohn’s and Colitis UK and Dyspraxia Foundation

On Sunday 28th June 2009 my dad completed a tandem skydive in aid of Multiple Sclerosis Society. He was diagnosed with the neurological condition in 1998. In a matter of twenty years he has gone from running half-marathons to a living in a nursing home due to his serious complex and unpredictable primary health care needs. It is remarkable to think he was able to undergo such a feat whilst he was still just about able to do so.  

Exactly nine years later, on Thursday 28th June 2018 I will be doing the same as my dad and will be completing a tandem skydive, but this time in aid of Crohn’s and Colitis UK and Dyspraxia Foundation. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at thirteen years old and dyspraxia at the age of eighteen. My journey living with these two hidden disabilities has included being bullied at secondary school; regular hospital admissions; flare-ups and surgery; tears, anger, embarrassment, isolation and fear; and further complications with mental health too.

Nevertheless, I also believe Crohn’s disease and dyspraxia have made me a creative, bright, funny, courageous and determined individual. I am proud to have achieved a first-class honours degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from University of Hertfordshire despite having tri-weekly learning support lessons during the first three years of secondary school. I am also proud to have passed my driving practical test first time in an automatic car as of March 2018.

Raising awareness of all forms of hidden disability and mental health conditions is so important to me. One reason is to challenge the stigmas and taboos which still exist. We are not stupid, lazy or dangerous. We are definitely not ‘freaks’, ‘losers’ or ‘retards’ as some of the bullies at secondary school suggested I was. Instead we are amazing people who achieve incredible ambitions.

I am completing this tandem skydive in aid of Crohn’s and Colitis UK and Dyspraxia Foundation as they are two charities which support thousands of people across the country who live with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and specific learning conditions, respectively. It is also their mission to increase understanding especially among professionals in health and education and to spread awareness of how people living with the condition and their loved ones can be helped.

Both charities have been very supportive. I regularly write articles, appear on radio shows, and am a member of Crohn’s and Colitis UK’s Readers Panel. In June 2017, I was humbly awarded the ‘Matthew Hunt Award’ for ‘outstanding achievement in raising awareness of dyspraxia’.

The charities continue to do excellent work to support thousands of people living in the United Kingdom. Therefore, this tandem skydive is my way of saying thank you to them but also to you who have listened or read every word and are there on the toughest of days, but also in the joy, laughter and celebrations as well. Plus, I like to think I will also be doing my dad proud by flying through the sky like a butterfly.

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If you would like to kindly donate, please do. You can do so through any of the relevant links below.

For Jake Borrett’s Team Page, please follow this link:

To donate to Crohn’s and Colitis UK, please follow this link:

To donate to Dyspraxia Foundation, please follow this link:

Thank you so much for your kindness.

On Thursday 28th June 2018, wherever you may be or whatever you may be doing make sure to look up and admire the sky.

My dad completing a tandem skydive for Multiple Sclerosis Society in June 2009...Copyright © 2009 Leigh Borrett. All rights reserved.