Nick jumps 15,000ft in memory of his wife
Lorraine West was brought into the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham with lumps in the left-hand side of her head that were pressing on her brain. She was treated in the Centre for Rare Diseases before passing away and now her husband Nick has raised an incredible amount of money for the hospital charity.
After Lorraine passed away in March 2018, Nick felt like he needed to do something to thank the staff in the Centre for Rare Diseases for all of their care and hard work whilst Lorraine was in hospital.
Picture above: Loz and Nick
She was admitted in September 2017 and Nick said: “I basically watched her die over six months. She couldn’t get off the bed, she was fed with a tube and the only thing she said of a night when I visited was ‘help me’.
“I visited every single day whilst she was in hospital and never missed one, and I didn’t even have a day off work.”
The lumps in Lorraine’s head were pressing on her brain which caused her to have a brain stem stroke. It was difficult to help her as her condition was so rare there was little knowledge on it at the time.
Nick took on a skydive in Lorraine’s memory and jumped 15,000ft out of a plane in a tandem skydive on what would have been their 23rd wedding anniversary. He raised an incredible £1,750.50 for the Centre for Rare Diseases!
Talking about the skydive, Nick said: “I knew that the staff worked tirelessly to save my wife, it was her time and there’s nothing you can do about that.
“When I got offered the chance to jump out of a plane for the Charity and the Centre for Rare Diseases, I took it. This year is about doing odd things and finding out who I am, which is not a skydiver!
“It’s an opportunity to give something back to the people who looked after Loz and I’m really glad I did it. It was massively different doing it on our wedding anniversary, it was massive closure for me.”
Pictured above: Nick on his skydive on 20 July, his and Loz's 23rd wedding anniversary
Roisin Mooney, Fundraising Officer for Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, said: “A huge well done to Nick for completing the skydive and for raising such a fantastic amount of money. He should be so proud of himself for facing his fears and doing something so brave in memory of his wife!
“The money he has raised will go towards funding added extras that go ‘over and above’ what the NHS can fund for patients who are being treated in the Centre for Rare Diseases just like Loz was here at QEHB.”
To find out more about the Centre for Rare Diseases and what they do here at the hospital, please click here.
Top picture: Nick (centre) with the team from the Centre for Rare Diseases and Roisin Mooney, Fundraising Officer (right)
