A teenager who almost died is taking part in a skydive to raise cash for the hospital that saved his life.
Harvey Ackerley, from Warrington, underwent major heart surgery at Alder Hey after passing out in his bedroom. Harvey, 16, was found by his mum Gemma and rushed to hospital.
When he got to Warrington hospital it was discovered that his appendix had burst and that was the reason for his collapse. Doctors ran some routine tests as part of his treatment, but soon spotted an abnormality in them.
READ MORE: Mum rushed to hospital as lips 'swelled six times their size' after fillers
Harvey was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital where more tests revealed that he had two holes in his heart with a right bundle blockage.
According to doctors if the holes had been missed, Harvey could have had a heart attack before the age of 25. The teenager had major surgery and is thankfully now recovering and eager to give back to Alder Hey.
Just a year on from when Harvey had his sternal wires removed following open-heart surgery, he is taking on challenges to raise money for the hospital. Now at almost 17, Harvey is about to take on one of his biggest challenges yet in the form of The Big Jump Sky Dive at Lancaster Airfield in collaboration with the LFC Foundation.
Harvey said: "I want to raise money for them to thank them for saving my life. I’m very nervous but excited too.”
Alder Hey have been raising money through a number of events over the years from abseiling, marathons and walks to car boot sales and adopting your own Roost Creature.
Wanting to push herself further out of her comfort zone, 41-year-old Lisa Mottram from Childwall is also taking part in the sky dive.
She said: “When I was two I had a severe asthma attack at Christmas time, I was rushed to Alder Hey. The doctors said to my parents if they would have left it one more minute I wouldn’t have survived. I want to give back because without Alder Hey, I wouldn’t be here today. They are a brilliant charity, and they help so many kids from all over the country.”
Irene Axon, the Senior Community Fundraising Manager at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital said: “We have over 50 supporters taking part in Sky Dives every year. It brings in a steady stream of sponsorship to support the charity.”
“Challenges like this are becoming so popular we have an amazing choice of events this year supporters can choose from with all abilities. Although it is the first time we have done a one day jump as we have people taking part all through the year – picking their own day to take part.”
The money raised will help fund the hospitals new mental health or neonatal unit, life-saving equipment, research, and healthcare innovation for the Liverpool children’s hospital.
Harvey’s Just Giving Page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/harvey-ackerley1heart
Lisa’s Just Giving Page: https://alderheycharity.enthuse.com/pf/lisa-mottram-7339a
