Fundraising is in the family for Daisy Appeal skydivers

Pictured after their skydive are (from left) Anna Finney, Elysha Winsor and Ellie Melton.

THE family of a man who died after a long battle with cancer have again stepped up to raise money for the charity which helped prolong his life.

Elliott Tate brought in more than £1,000 for the Daisy Appeal in memory of his Grandad, Bert Purdy, and now Elliott’s cousins have teamed up with a friend to donate more than £800 after jumping out of a plane.

Ellie Melton, who completed a sky dive with her cousin Elysha Winsor and their friend Anna Finney, said: “It was just something we had always wanted to do, something we were really interested in.”

Elysha added: “Our Grandad died in 2019 after a long and brave fight against cancer. For years he travelled back and forth from Bilton to Castle Hill Hospital for treatment and the care provided meant our family and especially his wife Joy got to spend as much time as possible with Bert.

“The Daisy Appeal is very close to our hearts and we hope that the money can go towards making care more advanced and batter for patients.”

Elysha, a trainee paramedic, Anna, a university student, and Ellie, who works with rescue horses and donkeys, all live in Bilton and originally planned the sky dive for January to mark their 21sth birthdays but were forced to postpone because of Covid restrictions.

They have now completed the tandem jump after taking to the air at Hibaldstow in Lincolnshire and leaping out of the plane from 10,000 feet while Grandma Joy watched their descent from the ground.

Ellie said: “I think she thought we were absolutely crazy but it was really nice that she was there to watch.

“It was so disheartening when the first jump had to be cancelled because we had got our hopes up and were really excited just to then feel let down.

“But when the time came we didn’t think about nerves, we just wanted to get on with things. It was a long day and very hot but we were only in the plane for about 20 minutes and then the jump was about five minutes.

“It was quite surreal. The guys we were jumping with showed us how to do Bert’s name in sign language so we did that on the way down. Looking back it seems as though it was all over in a flash but when you are actually doing it you have the time to take a lot of it in.

“I’d probably do it again, maybe for another fundraiser some time.”

Claire Levy, Daisy Appeal Fundraiser, said: “We’re so grateful to Ellie, Elysha and Anna for persevering after the postponement and going ahead with a daredevil stunt which, including Gift Aid, raised more than £800.

“Added to the proceeds of Elliott’s run last year, Bert’s grandchildren have now raised more than £2,000 in his memory. That’s a fantastic effort and their story highlights the difference that the Daisy Appeal can make to the lives of people who are living with cancer, heart disease and dementia.

“If anyone else is looking for ideas for fundraisers in aid of the Daisy Appeal – whether it’s running, jumping out of a plane or something completely different –please contact us through the website and we’ll do all we can to help.”

The Daisy Appeal has now raised £7.5m towards its target of £8.5-million to complete a radiochemistry and cyclotron unit which will produce radioactive tracers at Castle Hill Hospital and provide the opportunity for patients to receive more personalised care leading to earlier diagnosis and giving them better treatment and quality of life.

Once the facility is fully functional patients from a wider geographical area will have access to its services, improving accuracy and detection rates for cancer, heart disease and dementia in Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

The charity aims to play a leading role in clinically relevant PET-CT research over the next two decades and to show that the technology can be brought to the individual patient, quickly and effectively.

To find out more about the Daisy Appeal please visit https://daisyappeal.org/

To find out more about charity skydiving at Hibaldstow please visit https://www.skydiving.co.uk/