On March 10 Leanne will jump approximately 10,000 feet out of a plane over Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

She’s already sitting on $135 worth of donations but hoping to crack the thousand dollar mark before the three week deadline. Juvenile Diabetes is a topic too close to home, says Leanne, whose 11- year-old daughter was diagnosed last year.

“It’s taken part of her life that I can’t give her back and as a mother that’s heartbreaking,” she said.

“If she can battle this for the rest of her life, I can take one step out of my comfort zone in an attempt to help her.”

Taylah was just 10 years old when the news broke that she would have this illness for the rest of her life.

Her mother says, it might have been brought on by a prolonged asthma attack a few months earlier that she never recovered from.

It was by fate and luck, Leanne says, that Taylah was diagnosed when she was, otherwise things could be very different for them now.

She had been suffering from tiredness, lack of energy and was prone to contracting viruses.

When Leanne, and her son, fell sick to a normal viral infection Taylah contracted it.

They were able to overcome it within the space of 24 hours, but Taylah didn’t.

After 37 hours straight of vomiting she was taken to Goulburn Base Hospital.

Within two hours she was diagnosed as having juvenile diabetes and rushed in an ambulance to Canberra for immediate treatment.

“People don’t realise it can affect anybody at any time and any stage of their life,” Leanne said.

“Type 1 diabetes can occur to anyone up to the age of 40, though the older they get the rarer it is.”

Though you would never tell how sick Taylah is deep down, her armor is her brave face and big smile.

“Watching her sit there and inject herself four times a day is heartbreaking,” Leanne said.