Veronica proves doctors wrong with skydive

A FUNDRAISER who defied doctors’ advice to undertake a skydive has raised more than �1,000 for the hospital which helped save her life.

Veronica White, 52, of Parklands, Royston, raised �1,400 after taking the plunge from 15,000 feet over the summer.

Last week she presented a cheque for �934 to the John Farmer intensive care unit, with the rest of the money being split between the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and the British Lung Foundation.

While her jump was not quite as high as the world record leap from 128,000 feet of Austrian Felix Baumgartner on Sunday, it is a remarkable feat considering that less than two years ago she was in intensive care fighting for her life.

Mrs White said: “In 2010 I was quite ill with flu, and was admitted to Addenbrooke’s on Christmas Eve with breathing difficulties.

“They discovered I had swine flu, and I was on a life support machine for two weeks before being rushed into intensive care for an emergency tracheotomy because I’d developed pneumonia.

“I was in hospital until the end of February, and when I came out the doctors said to me that my lungs were so damaged that I wouldn’t be able to do all the things that I had before. Ever since I’ve been out to prove them wrong.

“The staff at the hospital were fantastic and so encouraging to me. I’ve been back to see them several times since and have done a lot of fundraising.”

Mrs White undertook the jump at an airfield near Peterborough.

“I was expecting to jump from 10,000 feet, but the weather conditions were perfect so we went up to 15,000,” she said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but I’ve never had the opportunity before.”

You still have time to make a donation to the Addenbrooke’s Hospital charitable trust via Veronica’s Justgiving page. Log on to www. justgiving.com/veronicawhite-skydive.