About Us

The 4th Annual MS Jump - 2010

About Us

Who are we? Why are we jumping?

Who we are:
Mike, Melanie & Mattea Jortner

Mike and Melanie ("I" going forward - I can't talk in 3rd person, sorry!), met in 1995 while attending Flagler College in Saint Augustine, Florida. Ironically, we were both from Connecticut - in towns about 20 miles apart. Mike chased me for well over a year (hey, I'm typing - it's my version of the story) before I gave in and starting dating him in 1997 (one year prior to his MS diagnosis).

We moved back to CT in 2000 after Mike graduated (FINALLY - dragged his feet on that one!) and were married (FINALLY - dragged his feet on that one too!) on May 3, 2003.

Our daughter Mattea was born January 6, 2006. She now runs the household, so let's take a moment to thank her for allowing me to sit at this computer for 10 uninterrupted minutes!

Mike & Mattie - July '07

Why we Jump:

Short Version:
In case you haven't noticed, my husband walks with a cane. [smile]

Long Version:
Mike was diagnosed with MS in 1998. His mom has MS. My grandfather had MS. All three cases were very different from one another, but each has had a profound effect on our lives. Now that we have a daughter, we realize the potential that she may one day be diagnosed. We certainly don't dwell on it, or even necessarily "worry" about it - but we certainly want to do everything in our power to prevent it.

............. so we jump out of planes.

We've participated in many MS Walks over the years but when the opportunity presented itself to do something a little different - we "jumped" at the chance! The MS Jump is our small way of contributing toward making a difference in the future of this disease. It is our greatest hope that someday, Mike may see improvement in his quality of life - and Mattie will never experience it.

............ but how did we find Skydiving?

For Mike's 31st Birthday, I bought him a chance to tandem skydive. I saw a video of one of our friends doing it and thought it would be a cool idea (complements of Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" song that Mike plays over and over and over....)

Anyway, while we were there for Mike's jump, we got to know the great people at Funskydiving - we had an "AHH HA" moment - I decided I had plenty of free time to organize a fundraiser (LOL) and the rest is history!