Louise Linden with Dee Neligan from East Kent Hospitals Charity
A daring mum soared above the clouds on a wing and a prayer to thank the hospital staff who saved her son from a near-death experience.
Louise Linden, a fearless 40-year-old from Folkestone, strapped herself to the top of a biplane and zoomed through the air at Headcorn, Kent airfield.
She said it was a childhood dream come true, inspired by the wing walkers who dazzled the crowds at the town’s air shows.
She said: “It was the most awesome thing I’ve ever done. It was like being in a different world up there. The only downside was the wind blowing in my face so hard that I couldn’t move my arms. I felt like a human flag.”
Louise decided to raise money for East Kent Hospitals Charity, to support the neonatal intensive care unit at the William Harvey Hospital, where her son Oscar was treated after he was born by emergency caesarean section.
The adventurous accountant, who has also jumped out of planes and off bridges, smashed her fundraising target of £1,000 and raised more than £2,000.
She said: “I’m over the moon with the amount of money I raised and I hope it will make a difference to the unit and other families. Oscar is four now and he’s doing great, but he had a rough start in life. He was born with low blood and oxygen levels and he had to stay in NICU for a few days. The staff there were amazing and they saved his life. This was my way of saying thank you to them.”