MISSION: Go skydiving.
MOMENT OF TRUTH: Wills enjoys serene pursuits, like doing jigsaw puzzles or riding her scooter along the lakefront while taking photographs. But for years, the Chicago resident also yearned to “jump out of a plane and just fly.”
BACKSTORY: Wills, 49, has had multiple sclerosis for more than a decade and can barely walk. But when she saw an ad recently for a skydiving operation in Huntley, she decided to stop procrastinating. She set a date, telling only one of her doctors. “He said, ‘No, no, no! . . . But it’s your life.’ “
OUTCOME: One September morning, a friend drove Wills out to Chicagoland Skydiving where, after a little training, Wills hooked herself up to the instructor, who would operate the parachutes for their tandem jump. In the plane, Wills eagerly ticked off every thousand feet they climbed. At 14,000 feet, she peered out the open doorway and froze, but just briefly. “Then I folded my arms, counted to three, and we fell out. OOH! It was amazing!” she recalled, laughing and clapping her hands. “I’m looking down and thinking, ‘Look at God’s creation!’ ” As she floated, Wills spread her arms wide and beamed. “You’re weightless, falling, but not like when you’re walking and fall down. Other times, MS is on your mind quite often. But for that time I didn’t think of it; I was just free.”
SIDE EFFECTS: The jump inspired Wills to exercise harder, stay healthy and lose weight so that she can not only skydive again, but also conquer something new: scuba diving.
PAYOFF: “It helped me have confidence. It let me know the world is still open for me to do what I want to do.”
