Caithness mother reaches for the sky for charity fundraiser
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A Caithness mother is reaching for the sky in a bid to raise money for a hospital which treated her daughter who has chronic kidney disease.
Susan Andrew, a primary school supply teacher in Thurso, is going to do a skydive for the Glasgow Children's Hospital. She will make her jump from the St Andrews airfield in Glenrothes on Saturday, May 13.
Susan, who has raised funds for good causes before, decided to fund-raise for the hospital after her seven-year-old daughter, Lois, had an operation there in March. She is back home now and making progress. The youngster also spent six weeks in the hospital last summer.
Thirty-nine-year-old Susan said: "I have a friend who does skydiving as a hobby and she said it is a great adrenalin rush. I have previously abseiled and done a run and a canoe trip for charity but this is a first for me.
"I am looking forward to it and am hoping for good weather on the day. There is a group of people doing the jump so we will go through the procedures with the instructors beforehand. I will be doing a tandem jump from 10,000 feet with a qualified instructor. The family will be coming down to see me doing the jump," she said.
Initially, Susan wanted to raise £500 for the hospital but has already surpassed that target and,at present, has reached over £700.
"I am really pleased with the response so far," said Susan who lives in Thurso with her husband, Stuart, and two children, Ethan (11) and Lois.
She added: "As a family we are unbelievably indebted to the staff and services of Glasgow Children’s Hospital.
"Last summer, Lois was flown down from Caithness General Hospital A&E to the hospital in Glasgow with fluid in her lungs.
"We spent six weeks in the care of the hospital which took Lois from her critical condition, being sedated on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit to happily playing in the hospital play park with follow up care back home. Lois loved the hospital cinema where she saw the Minions movie. She also loved all the play activities the staff brought to her room like painting sets and Play-Doh.
"This fundraiser is a small way of saying thank you and to help others have the quality of care and support we received."
Susan has previously completed the Ness 10 kilometre run for (SiMBA, a charity which helps those affected by the loss of a baby), abseiled off Dunrobin Castle and the Kessock bridge for the Archie Foundation and Highland Hospice respectively. She also undertook a 96-kilometre canoe trip from Fort William to Ness last Easter for Anam Cara Fasgadh which supports families affected by the loss of a child.
"But this is by far my most adrenaline-fuelled challenge," she added.
