TWO friends managed to raise an incredible £7,000 for charity after both their mums were diagnosed with dementia.
Linzi Platt from Great Sankey and her pal Sean Greenwood jumped from a plane at 15,000 feet as part of a sponsored sky dive to fundraise for Dementia UK.
Along with setting up Go Fund Me pages, the pair each organised raffles and carried out fundraising at their places of work, each managing to raise thousands for the charity so close to their hearts.
Explaining her link to the charity, Linzi, 50, said: “Mum was diagnosed two years ago.
“After lockdown we noticed that she started to deteriorate, and we initially thought it was just old age. We had her tested and she was then diagnosed with dementia.”
Now 80, Linzi’s mum is cared for at her home in St Helens by her and her four siblings.
“She has a hospice bed in the living room, and she is comfortable. We make the most of the time with her.”
She went on to say how her close friend Sean, from Walsall, has dealt with the same experience with his mum also being diagnosed with the cruel disease. She was moved into a care home following her diagnosis.
Linzi and Sean travelled to Peterborough on Sunday, July 21, to take part in the sponsored skydive.
Speaking on the experience, the mum-of-two said: “I was excited for it, I love heights, and I am a bit of a thrill seeker. But when I got to the airfield I was like ‘oh my goodness’.
“It all happened quite quickly. Once I had done it, I wanted to do it again. My eldest turns 21 soon so I am going to book it for us to do.”
She added: “Once the parachute opened, the guy let me operate the direction of where it was going. You get to see everything up there it was great.”
The pair who met while working as blue coats at Pontins launched their charity event during a reunion in February.
In total they managed to raise a whopping £7,000 for the charity which provides ‘vital help to families’ affected by the disease.
“We were overwhelmed on social media by how many people supported us, it was incredible to see how our friends got behind us.
“We are very proud to say the least. I know Sean and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.”
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