A Cumbrian woman has overcome her fear of flying to complete a skydive for charity.
Ann Bell, from Workington, has raised over £600 for BEEP Doctors Cumbria after leaping out of a plane at around 14,000 feet over Cark Airfield at Flookburgh.
She said: “I never dreamed before that I would ever do anything like that – I don’t like flying and I don’t even like going on rides at theme parks.
“As I approached 50 last year, I decided I needed a challenge, something completely out of my comfort zone, so I agreed to do a skydive as a colleague at work was planning to do one.”
Ann, who is married with two sons and works at Workington’s Marks and Spencer did the tandem skydive with John Howard of Skydive Northwest.
She added: “He knew I didn’t like flying so while the plane was ascending, he was pointing out places to me, like Windermere and Grange. In the plane I was a lot calmer than I thought I would be – until the door opened!”
Ann said as she waited at the door’s edge with John as she thought she would not be able to go through with the dive.
She added: “But then I thought none of the other people who were skydiving that day would be able to get past me so I had to do it.”
She kept her eyes tightly shut during the 40 seconds of freefall at 120mph but when the parachute opened, she enjoyed looking around and could see Blackpool Tower, Morecambe Bay and the Lake District.
She said: “After we landed I was shaking like a leaf but chuffed with myself that I had actually managed to do it.
“I decided to raise money for Beep Doctors because last year my friend’s son suffered serious injuries when he had a crash on his off-road bike. He was attended by medics at the scene, including a BEEP Doctor, and together they saved his life.
“He spent time in the intensive care unit at Royal Victoria Infirmary at Newcastle but he is now recovered.”
Through her JustGiving page Ann has already raised £520 plus £107.50 in gift aid. People can still donate at https://justgiving.com/page/ann-bell-beep-doctors-2023
It costs more than £150,000 a year to keep BEEP Doctors Cumbria going and it relies on donations and fund-raising events.
Dr Theo Weston, founder and chair of the Beep Doctors Cumbria, said: “On behalf of everyone at Beep Doctors I would like to thank Ann for her amazing skydive in support of our charity.
“Her bravery has raised vital funds that are essential to saving lives and we are incredibly grateful to her. The funds will contribute to the running costs of our trauma and medical emergency response service across Cumbria. Thank you, Ann, for making a difference.”
Cumbria’s BEEP Doctors provide enhanced pre-hospital emergency care. They work closely with the police and fire services, North West Ambulance Service, Great North Air Ambulance Service and North West Air Ambulance.
At incidents BEEP Doctors can carry out some surgical procedures, such as inserting chest drains; some can perform pre-hospital anaesthetics; and all are able to administer drugs that most road crew paramedics cannot, such as ketamine or fentanyl to give pain relief and allow fracture manipulation.
