How this woman finally got the nerve to skydive

Natasha McCarthy said she always wanted to go skydiving, but was "too chicken."

But last week, she found the courage to jump from a plane.

"I decided if I was going to do it, I had to do it now."

In her mid-30s, McCarthy was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Now almost 41, the Island woman is a candidate to receive potentially a life-changing surgery called deep brain stimulation — or DBS.

It's a long process to get approved for DBS, which is usually only performed on people between the ages of 50 and 70. But McCarthy passed her first two tests, and has another in September. If she gets the go-ahead, she could undergo treatment by January. That's one reason she decided to go skydiving now.

"If I get approved for DBS, you can't skydive afterwards so I figured now or never, so I took the plunge."

McCarthy said the thought of DBS is "terrifyingly exciting."

"Having someone drill a couple holes in your skull while you're awake is pretty freaky," she said, but "totally worth it."

It will mean a large reduction in her medication, which has some unpleasant side effects. It will also mean she can better enjoy time with her children, who are six and 10.

"I don't know how long my body will work well," she said. "You've got to do stuff while you're able."

McCarthy made her 10-year-old nervous when she parachuted out of the plane. But part of the reason she did it was to show her kids "they can do anything if it's something they really want to do."

"It was crazy, but it was the most amazing thing ever. Terrifying at first but then once you jump it's so spectacular and so amazing it's not even scary anymore," she said.

"Adrenaline and Parkinson's don't go well together and by the time I hit the ground I was shaking pretty bad but that's OK. It was awesome, it was worth it."

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