A GRATEFUL Barnsley dad has skydived from 15,000ft reaching speeds of 120 mph for a charity in recognition of the lifesaving treatment it provided for his son.
Daniel Gardiner, of Poplar Terrace, Royston, raised more than £2,000 to say thank you to the Children’s Hospital Charity for the life saving treatment of his son, Chase.
Chase Gardiner was born at just 27 weeks in July 2018. While there were 60,000 premature births in the UK last year, just five per cent were classed as extremely premature, a term for babies delivered before 28 weeks of pregnancy.
When his mother, Alicia Howell’s waters broke, she and the family were rushed to Barnsley Hospital and were transferred to Wolverhampton Hospital, which delivered Chase four days later.
Due to Chase’s young age, he required highly-specialist neonatal transport from the Embrace Ambulance Service. The round-the-clock transport service helps critically ill infants and children in Yorkshire and the Humber who require care in hospital.
Over the following weeks, the family relied on the service for eight transfers between four hospitals and home as Chase battled the complications of his early entry into the world.
“We got to know all the staff by name and saw up close the job they did,” said Daniel.
“Without the help of the staff in Wolverhampton, Jessops, Embrace and Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Chase wouldn’t be here today.”
Thanks to the care he received, Chase now only attends appointments every six months at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
The youngster’s good health prompted Daniel to give something back, which is when he saw The Children’s Hospital Charity’s Skydive challenge on social media.
He said: “If you’d have asked me before Chase was born, I’d have been one of those people saying ‘you won’t get me doing that’. But compared to what he has been through, jumping out of a plane didn’t seem so bad.
“Initially, I was really concerned I wouldn’t raise much money, but as it’s a great cause, I just went for it. I shared updates on social media and it just snowballed from there really - everyone wanted to help.”
One donor inspired by the posts was Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood.
Daniel said: “I sent him a picture of Chase on social media and said ‘do you think these will make good goal keeping hands one day?’. The next thing I knew the post was getting lots of likes and retweets and I got a notification through that Keiren had kindly donated £400. It was just overwhelming.”
In total, he raised over £2,000 for The Children’s Hospital Charity’s fund for the Embrace Ambulance Service.
“I knew there was no backing out then. It was an incredible total,” said Daniel. “I’m really thankful to everyone who contributed. I can’t wait to tell Chase how much money we’ve raised when he grows up. To give something back is all we can do to say thank you.”
With his fundraising progressing well, Daniel’s attention turned to the small matter of the jump. Taking place in Hibaldstow, a small village outside Brigg in Lincolnshire, it would involve a jumping out a plane at 15,000ft and reaching speeds of 120mph.
“The nerves kicked in about a month before and come the day I was dreading it,” he said.
“I had lots of friends and family there, so I was trying to act cool but I really wasn’t.
“The jump was absolutely fantastic. You don’t feel how fast you are going, it’s like time stops. It’s the most surreal experience. It’s strange - you go from being frightened to loving it so quickly.
“I couldn’t stop grinning afterwards. It’s definitely one of the best things I have ever done. I’d encourage anyone who was like me - who always said they’d never do it - to do it because it’s fantastic and you’ll certainly change your view on it after.”
n The next Skydive for The Children’s Hospital Charity takes place on Sunday April 28. To find out more and secure your place visit tchc.org.uk/events.
