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Hemani, Scar Free Trustee and Ambassador, signs up for a Scar Free skydive

Hemani Modasia-Shah will be leaping for Scar Free research on Saturday 11 October

Tuesday 26 August 2025

On Saturday 11 October, Scar Free Trustee and Ambassador Hemani Modasia-Shah will be changing lives by doing a skydive!

Take a look at Hemani’s JustGiving page to read more about her, her life-long journey as a burns survivor, and to donate.

We spoke to Hemani about hesitancy, heights, and her hopes for a Scar Free future.

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“When I mentioned in a board meeting that I might be interested in doing a skydive I don’t think I had really thought it through! Before I knew it, Rob, our Head of Fundraising, had set it all up and asked me when I was available.

I’ve wanted to do a skydive for years but I’ve definitely become more scared of heights and generally more hesitant since becoming a mum so this is quite a big thing for me.

When I was 18 months old a candle caught onto my pyjamas while I was playing with my brother. I was rushed to hospital as my dad held me in the back of the car while my uncle drove us.

My mum and older brother waited at home for news. When the call came, it was to tell my mum to prepare for the worst – to come to hospital and say goodbye to me.

I was incredibly lucky to live close to a really phenomenal burns unit where I stayed for over two months. I was in and out of that unit for the whole of my childhood because a burn injury is just the start of a life-long journey of operations, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and more.

Hemani's mum and dad hold baby Hemani between them. They all smile at the camera.

When I was 21 I decided I had absolutely had enough and refused any further surgery. I just wanted to be me, Hemani, rather than a patient. I managed to avoid surgery for years until I was pregnant with my second child in 2024.

The scars on my chest and abdomen could not cope with the stretching of my pregnant belly. As surgery was not an option I travelled over an hour once a week to have laser therapy and microneedling in an attempt to release some of the scarring.

It worked, but only temporarily and after I gave birth the scars contracted again and were back to their original thickness and tightness.

Toddler Hemani leans on her Dad's shoulder and looks up at him smiling. She wears a red jumper, and a bandage wrapped around her head covering her injured ear. Her dad wears a blue jumper.

A Scar Free world would mean a world where people didn’t stare at me and point. I would have had “normal” school holidays rather than operations twice a year growing up.

I wouldn’t have to explain to every hairdresser that I have a prosthetic ear and why I have a big bald patch. I wouldn’t have to explain to my son why my skin is different to other people.

I wouldn’t have been in pain for the whole of my second pregnancy and I would have been able to breastfeed both my children from two sides rather than one.

Hemani and her husband wear bright, colourful clothes for their wedding day. They are seated, smiling and laughing with each other.

Achieving scar free healing within a generation means my boys may well see this become a reality.

If me jumping 12,000 feet out of the sky pushes us even a tiny step closer to that…bring it on!

Please sponsor me and share my sponsorship link if you are able“.

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Good luck and a huge Scar Free thank you to Hemani, our fantastic Ambassador and Trustee!

Find out more about Hemani and her skydive on Hemani’s JustGiving page.

Scars can change everything: from how you move, grow eat, blink, and smile, to how you feel about yourself and how you interact with those around you.

Every donation to The Scar Free Foundation supports cutting-edge research to allow survivors to live a life free from the limitations of scarring.

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