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Going to great heights to say 'thank-you'
JUMPING 13,000ft strapped to the back of a paratrooper is quite a long way to go to say thank you.
But that is what Jonathan Bowles is doing for a support group which pulled him through the darkest days of his life and helped get him back on his feet.
The 46-year-old was diagnosed with condition fibromyalgia – which causes extreme pain in muscles, tendons and ligaments –two-and-a-half years ago after years of being in constant pain.
Some days he was so ill with the condition he said he felt as if he had been 'beaten with a baseball bat'.
But Jonathan, from Caspian Close, Chichester, joined the Fibromyalgia Support Group for Surrey and Sussex and has never looked back.
He said: 'The support group has been fantastic. They have helped me so much. Because fibromyalgia affects mostly women I thought I'd walked into a women's institute when I first joined, but they were brilliant.
'I was having a chat with my friend and we said we'd like to do something to raise awareness of the illness.
'He suggested something like a sponsored abseil but I wanted to do something a bit more daring than that.'
Until he was struck by the illness he was very active and loved sport, especially diving, and worked long hours as an HGV driver.
But seven years ago he began to get extremely tired and every muscle hurt. Doctor after doctor could not explain what was causing it and he ended up taking two years off work.
Then a friend paid for him to see a private consultant, who diagnosed him with fibromyalgia and pointed him in the direction of the support group.
Once diagnosed, his wife Philippa used her skills as a Reiki master to give him intense treatment which helped get him back on his feet and back to work.
He now wants to raise 5,000 through the jump this weekend in Wiltshire to put towards keeping the group going.
He added: 'I went through a very black patch for about seven months and they really helped me through it.'
If you would like to sponsor Jonathan you can e-mail him at jonathan.bowles1@btinternet.com
elise.brewerton@thenews.co.uk
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
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Temperature: -4 C to 3 C
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