Alison’s soaring through the skies to give back for amazing care her brother received

Next weekend NHS worker Alison is taking on a once in a lifetime challenge, in the form of a tandem skydive to raise money for the Peritoneal Tumour Unit at Good Hope Hospital in memory of her brother Geoff.

Meet Alison
“I am 58 years old, married with two daughters, two step-children and nine grandchildren. I have worked at Good Hope Hospital since 2002 and my daughters Kirsty and Michelle also work here.

“I really love raising money for charity, and am proud I have raised a total of nearly £35,000 over the years. My fundraising journey began in 1999 when I was a Squadron Clerk for the Army in Krefeld, Germany. My nephew was diagnosed with Epidermolysis Bullosa and I decided to fundraise; I enjoyed it so much that I have continued raising money for a range of charities in my time.”

Alison with a selection of thank you letters from her years of fundraising.

Alison’s Story
“In 2016 my brother Geoff was diagnosed with bowel cancer; he had three rounds of chemotherapy and in July 2019 cytoreductive surgery was performed by Mr Youssef at Good Hope Hospital, one of only three hospitals in the country to carry out this procedure. This gave Geoff a fantastic quality of life for a few months and he was back playing golf by the end of September. That year we raised £2,050 for The Peritoneal Tumour Unit with a golf day at Atherstone Golf Club. Unfortunately by Christmas the cancer was back and after another round of chemotherapy he sadly passed away on 4 July 2020. Due to COVID only his wife and eldest daughter were allowed to visit him for the last three weeks of his life. At this point we didn’t know he was at the end of life so his death came as a shock.

“That year was an extremely difficult one for my family as also in the May my eldest brother John suffered a severe stroke. He wasn’t allowed any visitors because of restrictions and I didn’t get to see him again until 13 June 2021. Just two days before my visit to see John, my other brother Malcolm also had a stroke, thankfully he wasn’t quite as bad as John but still had to have carers to look after him and was unable to have visitors during this time.

“Unfortunately, Malcolm passed away 22 December 2021 after going into hospital and getting COVID, sadly no-one had been allowed to be with him. Just a couple of months later, on 28 February 2022 John passed away, but at least his family were allowed to see him.

“It was during this awful time that I decided I needed to do something positive and after seeing a UHB Charity poster asking ‘what will you do new for 2022?’ I asked my family members if anyone fancied jumping out of a plane. The only two that said yes was my son-in law-Joe and nephew Steven. I’ve always wanted to do a skydive, despite being scared of heights, but I never thought the opportunity would come my way. It has given me something to focus on. We decided that any funds raised would go to Peritoneal Tumour Unit set up by Mr Youssef again in Geoff’s memory for the amazing treatment he received whilst under their care.”

If you would like to help support Mr Youssef’s Peritoneal Tumour Unit so they can continue going over and above for patients they treat, you can donate to Alison’s skydive adventure here.