Despite struggling to walk, multiple sclerosis sufferer Nick Andrews is going to do a parachute jump.
Mr Andrews, 50, a father-of-two from Bromham, will be doing a tandem jump from 10,000 feet at Redlands Airfield in Swindon on May 9 to raise money for the Cancer Research UK charity.
He said he was nervous about the jump but added: “I just felt I had to challenge myself this year. My doctor has given me medical clearance to do the jump. I can’t lift my legs up so they will be velcroed to the man I am jumping with and he will lift my legs up when we land.”
Mr Andrews, of Horsepool, has had MS for ten years. Eighteen months ago he was able to walk his eldest daughter Stacey, 23, part of the way down the aisle. But his mobility has worsened and he can only walk around his house with the aid of a three wheeled trolley and a wheelchair for longer distances.
His wife, Kaye, said of her husband: “I think he’s very brave to do the jump. He is doing something really challenging and I am proud of him.” Mr Andrews, who used to work as a lorry driver for Mark Wilkinson Furniture in Bromham, has set himself a target of raising £2,500 for Cancer Research UK.
His wife’s parents Geoff and Vilma Paget both died of cancer and they had friends who have died of the disease.
To donate online go to www.justgiving.com/NickAndrewsSkyDive Mr Andrews has been told he has a good chance of being accepted on to clinical trials for stem cell treatment. His consultant, Professor Neil Scolding, at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, hopes to secure funding to start the next phase of clinical trials.
This is Wiltshire - 3rd April 2010