Sophia Hollis was approaching her 10th birthday when her mum collapsed in the bathroom during a suspected stroke.
Two and a half years later mum Anita, of Arnold, was diagnosed with idiopathic Ataxia, a neurological disorder which affects balance and walking, speech, swallowing, vision and hearing. She also has small fibre neuropathy, which affects sensations in the hands and feet.
Anita, now 51, was diagnosed in late 2015 and the condition forced her to leave her nursing job after 20 years.
She now uses a wheelchair, walking sticks or a mobility scooter.
Anita, who worked at Queen’s Medical Centre for five years and spent 15 years in community nursing, found herself increasingly isolated and anxious to go out on her own, finding her local shop’s aisles too narrow to navigate in her mobility scooter.
She was once even made to feel that a supermarket security guard suspected she was drunk, after her condition caused her to fall into a freezer, coupled with slurred speech.
But she has been given a new lease of life, after having her pet dog Oliver trained by the national Support Dogs charity.
Not only is the handsome Golden Retriever undergoing training as a disability assistance dog to help Anita to live more independently, being out and about with Oliver in his blue Support Dogs jacket signals to others that Anita has a disability.
Anita said: “Oliver has been trained to push door access buttons, empty the washing machine, take my socks and trousers off, fetch the post, tidy toys and does an alert bark if I end up on the floor.
“I take him everywhere now, which is brilliant.
“Support Dogs saves the NHS so much money, but gets no help with funding.”
Now her daughter, Sophia, a 22-year-old veterinary medicine student at the University of Nottingham, is preparing to tackle Support Dogs’ first-ever mass Skydiving Day, which takes place at Langar Airfield in Notts on September 20.
Sophia, who also organised a bake sale in aid of Support Dogs at Arnold’s Major Oak pub last month, admitted she was “terrified” at the thought of jumping out of a plane at 10,000ft and up to 120mph.
Anita added: “I think she’s crazy!”
But Sophia said: “I’ve seen such progress in Oliver – when we take him into town to get more experience, people really react to him pressing disabled access buttons and how calm he is.
“It’s absolutely brilliant to see other people’s reactions.
“It’s given my mum a huge amount of confidence, knowing he’s there. His skills have come on incredibly.”
She added: “When Oliver went for his initial training with Support Dogs, he stayed with volunteers for a month – they must be so motivated.
“The fact training is all funded through the charity means my mum is able to access that support she wouldn’t be able to otherwise. She’s always known about Support Dogs, but didn’t realise how rewarding it would be to work with them. They really are changing lives.”
Rita Howson, chief executive at Yorkshire-based Support Dogs, said: “We rely heavily on donations from fantastic fundraisers like Sophia and we’re so proud that Oliver is helping to make a huge difference to her and her mum. Good luck, Sophia and all our other brave skydivers!”
Anyone wishing to sponsor Sophia can do so at www.justgiving.com/page/sophia-hollis-1
To find out more about Support Dogs, please visit www.supportdogs.org.uk or call 0114 2617800.
