The finale of his epic #10for10 challenge will be an accelerated free fall skydive, attempted solo after a full day’s training in at Beccles Aerodrome in Norfolk.
David, who grew up in Ringmer and now lives in Crawley, works as a senior crew member for a private airline based at Stanstead. Though he’s worked on airplanes for 20 years, this will be the first time he’s jumped out of one.
“I honestly cannot wait. I've spent my life in metal tubes, so having the opportunity to throw myself out of one is just going to be amazing,” he says. “It’s the best possible way to finish my #10for10 challenge.”
David’s mission, as well as to challenge himself physically and mentally, is to raise money through the Royal Free Charity for amyloidosis research, the disease which took his father ten years ago. I
t’s a rare condition with very little awareness outside those who’ve been personally affected by it. David has set out to change all that though, by coming up with ten very different challenges – one for each year since his father’s passing.
Some have been commemorative – for example, David completed a round of golf as a nod to his father’s favourite hobby, and a walk over the O2 in honour of Andy’s profession as a roofer. S
ome have been a test of nerve – such as the first one, a forwards and backwards bungee jump, and this weekend’s skydive, while others have been a test of endurance – starting with a 100km ultra challenge walk, then a 50km bike ride and finally a half marathon.
“The hardest by far was the 100km ultra challenge, walking non-stop from London to Brighton,” David recalls. “I mean, I thought I was pretty resilient. But I have never been so pushed in my entire life.
“Before this, I never exercised – I wouldn’t even walk to the shop – so the preparation was hard, but it was nothing compared to the actual walk.
“It took 26 and a half hours of non-stop walking, day and night, through the dark and the rain. I was wet, tired and my torch wasn’t working so couldn’t see where I was going. I hit so many walls. I nearly gave up so many times.”
Fortunately, he was spurred on by a lot of encouraging messages from friends and family, including his mum Daphne and sister Sarah.
“My friend Lou was on the phone trying to convince me that I was nearly there when I was ready to pull out. But really what kept me going was thoughts of him (his father).
"I said to myself, ‘who cares how you feel? He suffered much more than this’. And no sooner had I started walking again than my torch suddenly switched back on. I made it to the end, and all my family were there cheering for me. It was such a huge relief – to say I was an emotional mess is an understatement!”
The ultra challenge walk may have been the hardest, but the other challenges weren’t without their difficulties either.
“After the 100km walk, I thought a half marathon would be easy,” recalls David. “But I injured my knee three weeks before the event and doctors advised me to pull out – but of course I didn’t.
"I was covered in deep heat by the end, and because I was overcompensating I ended up tearing all the ligaments in my other ankle. I got through thanks to the support from the crowd – the atmosphere was just amazing – but the next day I was on crutches and signed off work for three weeks. It was painful, but it’s still nothing compared to what having amyloidosis is like.”
Amyloidosis is a rare condition in which proteins called amyloids build up in the body’s organs and tissues. There are several different types, and while treatments can improve a patient’s quality of life, as yet there is no cure.
It’s also notoriously hard to diagnose, as its symptoms resemble so many other conditions, such as heart or kidney disease, depending on which part of the body it effects.
Unless a doctor thinks to test specifically for amyloids, it might never be detected – as was the case with David’s father back in 2014.
“No one could ever tell us what was wrong with him,” remembers David. “It didn’t show up in any of the tests. We went to different hospitals, and they all thought it must be his heart, but none of the treatments worked. We just watched him die for 18 months.”
For David, watching his previously active father decline so rapidly was heartbreaking. “He was a football player, a golfer and had his own roofing company,” he says. “In the end, the amyloidosis had got to his heart and so it was essentially pumping out poisoned blood – one of his legs went black. That was followed by massive organ failure, and that’s what got him in the end.”
At that point, however, David and his family still had no idea what had killed his father. When they received the post-mortem report, stating the cause of death as amyloidosis, it was the first time they’d ever seen the word.
“None of us had ever heard of it,” David says. “The nurse tried to explain it, but she wasn’t a specialist, she couldn’t answer any of our questions. Naturally we looked it up later, but there was hardly any information. It was an awful experience. We were just dumbstruck by the whole thing.”
This lack of information about amyloidosis at that time made processing the loss all the more difficult, and for a long time David was reluctant to talk about it. It was only last Christmas when he was talking with colleagues about lost family members, that he realised 2024 would mark ten years since his father’s death, and the idea for his #10for10 challenge started to take shape.
“For a long time I wouldn’t even think about it,” he says. “It’s only recently I’ve been able to process it. And surprisingly, doing this challenge has enabled me to find out so much more not just about amyloidosis, but also about exactly what happened to my dad.”
David’s newfound understanding of the disease is the result of his collaboration with Royal Free and the National Amyloidosis Centre (NAC), as both charities were immediately on board when he contacted them about his challenge at the beginning of this year.
The NAC put him in touch with Professor Julian Gilmore, who is a leading expert on amyloidosis in a field where experts are already very few and far between.
“They (the two charities) were so excited that I had contacted them,” says David. “They connected me with Professor Gilmore and gave me a tour around the National Amyloidosis Centre. It was amazing to see all these facilities and support services that we didn’t have ten years ago.”
The NAC was commissioned by the NHS in 1999, but because Andy’s amyloidosis was never diagnosed, his family was unable to seek support. For David, this new experience has finally brought some closure, because Professor Gilmore was able to finally answer his long-held questions about what had happened to his father.
“Professor Gilmore is like the ultimate research guy into amyloids and what they do,” says David. “He looked at my dad’s records and was able to tell me exactly what kind of amyloidosis he had, and what was going on in his body. It was amazing to finally have that information, and to share it with my family.
David’s family, along with his friends and several local businesses, have been a major factor in his fulfilling his ambitious line up of challenges. “I am so grateful for the support so far from my family and friends,”, he says. “Crawley Boulevard Florists in particular have been amazing, promoting my JustGiving page to all their customers – it’s made a huge difference.”
Currently, David’s fundraising total is sitting at just over £2,200 – but he hopes to raise another £1,000 before his page closes on the 16th of December. He’s hopeful that the money will help find better treatments or even a cure, as well as fund the support services he wishes his family could have had.
“I haven’t properly processed it yet, what I’ve actually accomplished”, he says. “Once I present the cheque to Professor Gilmore and his team, then I think it will really hit home – I will probably cry a lot. Then I’ll probably look back and think, ‘what on earth was I thinking?’ But I’m also incredibly proud.”
“I mean, I’ve got medals, and fitness, the sense of accomplishment is huge – but as well as that, I’ve gained a true understanding of myself and my own capabilities. It’s about knowing that my limits go far beyond what I ever thought was possible, and actually feeling okay in my own skin. I know I can accomplish anything now.”
As well as the money, David is keen to raise the profile of amyloidosis, and will continue to support the NAC as a Royal Free Charity ambassador. “I mean, we have this centre in the UK, but unless you’re affected by it, you wouldn’t know it's there,” he says.
“So the fundraising that they need is so important, because amyloidosis is becoming more discoverable and more treatable. Sadly, I can't change what happened to my dad. But if I can make a difference to someone else, then I'm winning – you know what I mean?”
For full details on David’s training and challenge updates, or to donate, follow his JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/david-tasker-1710928404808