After losing his mother to bowel cancer in May 2021, David Wong decided he was going to raise funds for Liverpool Clatterbridge who had cared and treated his mother.
As part of his bucket list he had always wanted to skydive and, whilst looking at a Facebook page about cancer charities, he saw skydiving. David said: “I will have a go at that, I get to do the skydive for charity and at the same time I can tick it off my bucket list."
He booked at the Black Knights Parachute Centre in Lancashire and on the day he was supported by his dad and two brothers who went with him. He set a target of just £400 and surprised himself by raising £2,390.
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David told the ECHO : “The whole experience from when I booked it and I started the fundraising, it just snowballed and got bigger. If I started worrying about it I would have freaked myself out and not wanted to do it.
“I did not want to worry about the jump and if I could make the weight. I did make the weight I was just about under the 15 stone maximum. It’s 15 stone for men and 13 for women.”
His mother, Lyn Wong, died of bowel cancer in May 2021 after being diagnosed in September 2020. David from Toxteth in Liverpool, explained how it was initially thought his mother had an iron deficiency but after being sent for further tests it came back that she had bowel cancer and a 17cm tumour growing inside her.
David said: “The minute the donations started to come in I was overwhelmed by people’s generosity and the support. We all know someone, a family member, a friend or a friend of a friend who is battling some form of cancer.
“The more money we raise the better it can help as it gives another person a better chance of surviving. If I can provide something for them, it makes me feel better knowing that I have done something good.”
“When I was going down I was thinking of my mum and everyone else who we had lost, people in the area, I was doing it for them. You can raise money and do something nice for them.
“I suggest to anyone who is thinking of doing it, to do so. As a family we’re thinking of going as a day out with a few of us doing it."
Events fundraising manager, Mark Parkinson told the ECHO: “David was among a fantastic group of 18 incredible skydivers who raised £14,000 between them for The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity. David raised an outstanding £2,500 in memory of his mum as he wanted to do something challenging to show just how much she meant to him.
“As with all our skydivers, we were proud to watch David take everything in his stride and complete his skydive. Thanks to David and many others, the charity can continue to support the incredible work of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and everything they do in our region for those living with cancer. With skydiving dates throughout the year, visit clatterbridgecc.org.uk or call 0151 556 5566 for more information”.
