Rebecca lets her fears fall away
She celebrated her 60th birthday by conquering her fear of heights.
Rebecca Donnelly, who suffered from severe acrophobia, felt like a bird after conquering her fear of heights on May 10.
She overcame her anxieties with an 11 000 feet tandem skydive at the Farm Dwarsfontein Argent in Delmas, telling the Benoni City Times afterwards that she can live freely now that she’s conquered her fear.
Rebecca, who also suffers from hydrophobia, said she decided to skydive in celebration of her 60th birthday.
“The jump was phenomenal. I had the time of my life. It took away all my fear. I wasn’t scared. I flew like a bird. It was beautiful. I felt like a bird. I would do it again,” she said.
“I almost drowned when I was 13. Since then, I can’t get into the water. Doing the skydive was a way for me to take hold of that fear so that one day, when I leave this earth, at least I would have realised my dream of fearlessness.”
This jump meant a lot to the sexagenarian after going through some ordeals in her life.
Rebecca survived a hijacking, had a gun pointed at her head at one point and was almost kidnapped.
“I’ve been through a lot. But I’m still standing. This jump meant a lot to me because not many people reach 60 still in good health. To get there with all the ups and downs in my life, I’ve made it, and the jump was worth it.”
She explained that it was through faith, spreading love, caring and philanthropy that she was able to deal with all the incidents that almost upended her life.
“It was tough. I had to counsel myself. Going through all this made me a strong person. I have no fear. I live free. I don’t please anyone and I knew that once the jump was over, the final straw was finished,” Rebecca said.
On turning 60, Donnelly said she is still young at heart.
“I don’t feel 60, physically or mentally. I still feel young. I thought 60 was an age where people walk hunched or with sticks. God has spared me all that.”
Her advice to anyone with phobias is to focus on what they can control.
“Don’t stress about anything. Leave everything to God. He’s got your back.”
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