The countdown is on, and it's now just 24 hours until I jump out of a plane at 10,000 feet to raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK. Over the last six years, since Mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer, I have done a lot of fundraising, and raising awareness about this awful illness. This venture is a brilliant way of raising funds, but on a personal level it is probably the worst idea I have ever had! A genuine fear of heights means that I am terrified, and not looking forward to it at all. In fact I will be so happy once I have two feet back on the ground. However, the support from everyone has been phenomenal with over £1450 raised so far. Thank to everyone who have been so very generous x
Jumping out of the plane will go against all my natural instincts, and even now I can't guarantee that I will be able to do the skydive - I think I will need a big push! My tactic will be to think about Mum, and be doing it very much in her memory. The image above will be in my mind throughout.
I will investigate the option of having my day videoed, and so hopefully everyone will get to see what happens, and also see some photos as the day unfolds. It is not too late to sponsor me at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tims-bigjump
Obviously my main motivation for my fundraising is Mum. Diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2012, she had successful surgery to remove the tumour from her bowel, and then four more major operations to remove nodules from her lungs. It was when the cancer also spread to her brain that treatment options began to run out, and her health deteriorated. She passed away on August 29th, 2016. I still miss her very much.
The facts are that 41,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year in the UK alone, and sadly 16,000 people die each year. If detected early it can be successfully treated in over 90% of cases. At the moment only 15% of cases are caught at the early stage 1. Therefore raising awareness is key, as improving early diagnosis will greatly improve the current survival rates. Bowel Cancer UK / Beating Bowel Cancer, the UK's leading bowel cancer charity, hope that by 2050 no-one will die from bowel cancer. Your sponsorship will help fund their work.
Wish me luck for tomorrow, I think I am going need it!
