Bartlett resident to rappel down Chicago building to highlight COPD

Bartlett resident Amanda Rowland will rappel 127 feet down the side of a building in Chicago's Loop Sunday in memory of her grandmother. And she's never done anything quite like this before.

"Most people are pretty much just going to show up and do it," Rowland said.

The 26-year-old woman will join with about 15 other people for the biannual Skyline Plunge! down the side of 27-story theWit Hotel.

The event raises money and awareness for Respiratory Health Association's lung disease research and programs.

Rowland saw the event on Facebook about a year ago, and when her grandmother Jeanette Rowland died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in May, she knew this was something she wanted to do.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and people who have lung disease may not be able to do extreme things like this," she said.

Jeanette Rowland was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease about 10 years ago and started using an oxygen tank four years after she was diagnosed.

The disease generally causes a difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath due to airflow blockage.

"She was a really strong and stubborn woman; she never really talked about her disease," Amanda Rowland said.

Jeanette Rowland, a Buffalo Grove resident, worked at the Jewel-Osco photo counter in Lake Zurich and had customers who would frequently come in to visit her.

Rowland describes her grandmother as a petite woman, weighing about 90 pounds, with a strong will. And she was a smoker for about 50 years, Rowland said.

"Toward the end, all of her energy was used to breathe," Rowland said. "She went from being independent to living in a nursing home."

Rowland's dad smoked for 35 years and didn't quit until he saw how difficult it was for his mother.

"Once he saw that, it was easy for him to quit," Rowland said.

Rowland is hoping to raise $1,500 for the Respiratory Health Association.

Friends and family members have pledged their support, and some will watch from below Sunday.

Rowland says she isn't really nervous to take the 127-foot plunge.

"I've gone sky diving and parasailing before, so I'm not afraid of heights," Rowland said. "I just hope it doesn't rain."