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A grateful Folkestone mum is hoping to raise £1,000 with a sponsored wing walk to thank hospital staff who helped save her son’s life.
Louise Linden decided to take on the challenge as part of celebrations for her 40th birthday this year and will take to the skies at Headcorn airfield in July.
It’s the culmination of a childhood dream for the mum of two, from Folkestone, who grew up imagining following in the slipstream of wing walkers who impressed crowds at the town’s air shows.
She said: “I used to watch the aerobatic displays they put on and always thought it seemed like a really cool thing to do.
“I decided to do one for my 40th, and my husband was going to buy it as an experience for my birthday. But then I saw the opportunity to do a wing walk and raise money for charity at the same time and that seemed perfect.”
Louise is raising money for East Kent Hospitals Charity, to benefit the neonatal intensive care unit at the William Harvey Hospital, where her son Oscar was cared for after he was born by emergency caesarean section.
She said: “Oscar is four now and happy and healthy, but he was very poorly when he was born with low levels of blood and oxygen.
“He was taken to NICU straight away and was there for a few days before he could move to the special care baby unit.
“They were fantastic with us and with Oscar so I wanted to give something back as a way of saying thank you to the team.”
Louise, a chartered accountant, has already completed two sky-dives and a bungee jump, but confessed to mixed feelings about the wing walk challenge.
She said: “I’m excited but I do get more nervous the more I talk to people about it.
“At least this time I’ll be strapped in, and the family will be there on the ground to support me.
“It’s for a fantastic cause and I’d like to raise £1,000 for the unit. We are so grateful for the care they gave us as a family and this will help them care for other babies in the future.”
Louise Lindon with Oscar and Alice
People can add to Louise’s sponsorship at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Louise-Linden1
If you would like to join Louise on a wing walk for East Kent Hospitals Charity, visit https://www.ekhcharity.org.uk/events/events-wingwalk/ and sign up before Wednesday, 31 May.