Incredible deaf and blind Brit climbs New York skyscraper in terrifying feat
Lisa Halley carefully inched her way to the top of a New York skyscraper – climbing up the outside of it to a dizzying 1,200 feet above the busy streets below.
And then she planted both feet on top, a wide smile on her face.
It was yet another hair-raising challenge completed by this astonishing 32-year-old woman – and all the more incredible because she is almost totally blind and profoundly deaf.
But she has not let her disabilities stop her from taking on breathtaking feats that would leave millions with sight and hearing weak at the knees.
From sky-diving to wing-walking – and one of the first deaf-blind students to graduate from a British university – there has been no holding her back.
Woman tells of losing 29 kilos and becoming a bodybuilder in her 60s
So becoming the first deaf-blind person to climb New York’s Edge skyscraper in February, the world’s highest open-air building ascent, was all in a day’s adventuring for defiant Lisa.
She loved skydiving“All my life I’ve been told what I can’t do,” she says. “Try telling me that now and I’ll prove you wrong.” And today she tells how her life has been changed for ever by her best friend – a guide dog called Jumble.
“She has given me the confidence to do anything. I can’t believe what I have achieved in the seven years since I got her. Jumble gave me a reason to live.”
Lisa, from Dundee, had grown up profoundly deaf – but at 21 in 2011 she was diagnosed with incurable rare genetic disease Usher’s Syndrome which meant she would lose her sight too.
Lisa with her guide dog Jumble
The woman with Tom Daley at the Commonwealth GamesLisa says: “When I was diagnosed I was in a really dark place. To find out I was going blind as well was terrifying. At first I was told I couldn’t go to university, I couldn’t travel, I’d lose my eyesight and that was that. There was no support, just a shut door. When I asked the consultant what I could do, he gave me a piece of paper with the word ‘Sense’ on it, a charity that might help.”
Her diagnosis coincided with the loss of her beloved grandad Michael at 69. “He always told me I’d be the first person in the family to go to university, and one day I’d be able to hear birds singing.
“I got cochlear implants just after he died, which I turned on by his grave.
“The first noise I heard was birdsong. In his memory I swore I’d go to uni.”
Lisa pictured with huskies in SwedenWith her sight deteriorating, Lisa passed a Higher National Diploma but was determined it wouldn’t be the end of her education road. And she’d already started showing her determination to travel and her head for heights – completing a hands-free circular skywalk around the 1,815ft high CN Tower in Toronto while volunteering at the Pan Am Games in July 2015 – and taking a chopper trip over the Niagara Falls.
Back home she was accepted for a one-year ‘Ahead’ course to prepare her for a full psychology undergraduate course at Dundee’s Abertay University.
Chelsea winners and losers from record transfer window as more changes to come
A month after starting it in 2016 Lisa was introduced to labrador-retriever cross guide dog Jumble.
“Almost overnight the world was mine again. She became my eyes, my ears. She protects me every day. She gave me my independence back and we started a whole new chapter in my life.”
She also took a chopper trip over the Niagara FallsShe has since been wing-walking and parasailing. She’s trekked the Grand Canyon and abseiled off the Forth Bridge. She’s gone husky-sledding in Sweden and her love of volunteering has taken her to the tennis Davis Cup and Commonwealth Games.
“The world is so big, I wanted to see as much of it as I could before I go into my darkness,” she says. “I have lost over 90% of my sight.
“If I’m walking through crowds it is like coloured balls being thrown at me, as I can’t see bodies, only the colour of clothes. I don’t know when it will go completely, so I am determined to complete my wish list. I guess I have a bucket list of sorts, knowing the clock’s ticking, but it’s not a sad thing, I just want to inspire others.”
Apart from her daredevil side, Lisa – always a lover of sport – also became a fitness fan. “I’d never done a long run before in my life, but with Jumble I had the confidence to do so,” says Lisa.
“I’ve now completed the Glasgow half marathon and a whole series of charity runs.”
For her dissertation at university, Lisa wrote about the impact guide dogs can have on mental health. Her studies were interrupted by the pandemic but she gained a 2.1 BSc, making her mum and dad, Gaynor and Norrie, so proud.
“I wanted Jumble to be a key part of my graduation, so I got her a specially made black gown,” she says.
Lisa pictured with Paul O'Grady
Lisa during her wing walk experienceOne of her ambitions is to appear on TV with Jumble to help boost support for people with her disabilities. Her telly hero was dog lover Paul O’Grady, and she was stunned by his death last week after meeting him at Edinburgh Playhouse in February where he was starring in comedy Annie.
“He saw Jumble and came to say hello. It’s so sad. He was the nicest man you could meet. I love how much he’s done for dogs and animals.”
Lisa now works as a Guide Dog speaker, sharing her story in schools and businesses. Jumble is due to retire in August and Lisa is on the waiting list for a new guide dog.
“Jumble’s retirement is terrifying, but for the life she’s given me, I feel so blessed,” says Lisa.
For more info see guidedogs.org.uk
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
