A student who has battled with an eating disorder has conquered the skies with a parachute jump.
Sonia Johar and her sister Hema have raised more than £850 for eating disorder charity Beat.
Sonia, 19, said she was delighted to finish the skydive.
“It was one of scariest yet most exhilarating experiences I have ever had,” she said.
Sonia started developing issues with food at the age of 14, which led to her weight dropping to just five stone.
Just after turning 15, she was admitted as a residential patient to a facility for young people close to Leeds General Infirmary.
She spent three six-month periods there, achieving a string of 10 top A* grades in her GCSEs, which she sat while still an in-patient. After the last stay, she gained enough weight to be allowed home and is now at university in Nottingham.
Sonia, whose dad Sanjeev Johar co-owns Deeva restaurant in Farsley, Leeds, said she was proud to do the tandem parachute jump for a cause close to her heart.
“Whilst hovering in the air, memories came flooding back to me from my own experience of an eating disorder and the extremities of it all,” she said.
“However, I realised how far I had come and how much I had progressed.
“At this current time, I still have struggles with the eating disorder – it never goes away fully but it is manageable and doesn’t have to stop you living a ‘normal’ day-to-day life.”
She added that doing the skydive with her sister showed how much support she has had from her family.
Sonia is now looking forward to studying in Sweden as part of her degree in International Relations and Global Issues.
She said she had also pledged to do as much as possible to help others with eating disorders.
To donate towards her fundraising goal of £1,000, or to help organise future events, call 07854 117786 or drop into Farsley Post Office on Town Street or Deeva Restaurant opposite.
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