29 fundraising individuals will take to the skies above the Isle of Wight in a tandem skydive in aid of The Wight Brainy Bunch tomorrow (Wednesday).
This will be the third year that the Island-based charity has taken part in this event, with their highest number of participants to date.
Taking off from Sandown Airport and under the expert tuition of instructors from Skydive IOW, the brave 29 will jump from a whopping 10,000ft.
Amongst the participants is 75-year-old Joan Finch from Northwood, who decided to take on this challenge after losing her husband Reg to a brain tumour in 2017. Joan says:
“During this time Mark and Kathryn from The Wight Brainy Bunch gave us support, which continues to this day”.
Jumping alongside Joan on Wednesday is Jan Morris, who will be jumping in memory of her young daughter Alayna, on what would have been her 19th birthday. Alayna tragically passed away in November last year just 8 months following her diagnosis of an aggressive brain tumour.
Jan says:
“The last 8½ months have been the hardest of my life and every day I miss her so much, it breaks my heart… but I know she would want us to keep living. So much so, that I questioned how we would mark her birthday. That decision was made for me when I found out about the skydive for The Wight Brainy Bunch, who have been a constant support to us all throughout Alayna’s journey and beyond”.
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The Wight Brainy Bunch was set up by Ryde Firefighter Mark Grimes and his wife, Kathryn, following his own diagnosis of a brain tumour in 2015. Mark underwent surgery to remove a 5x5cm tumour whilst awake. Since that time, Mark has undergone regular MRI scans to monitor the tumour but following this year’s routine scan – and just 2 days before running the London Marathon – Mark was given the devastating news that his tumour had re-grown, resulting in a second awake craniotomy just 4 weeks ago.
Kathryn Grimes says:
“We have been overwhelmed by the response we received when we announced this years’ Skydive. So many people have their own personal reasons for choosing to jump with our charity, it is truly humbling to hear their stories, and we are so grateful for the support we continue to receive”.
Good luck to you all!! What a great bunch of people!