A man with a fear of heights is to jump out of an aeroplane to raise money for a children’s eyesight charity, inspired by his daughter’s condition.
Dave Spencer, 30, of Dove Close, Elton, will reach speeds of up to 120 miles per hour during the tandem parachute jump in aid of vision4children on Saturday, December 14 at Whitchurch Airfield.
Dave’s two-year-old daughter Maisy was just one day old when doctors noticed that the red reflex in her left eye was missing.
After being referred to a specialist at Alder Hey Hospital, Maisy was diagnosed with a cataract and had to undergo surgery to remove it at seven weeks old.
She has to wear a patch over her left eye for up to six hours at a time and every day her parents have to insert and remove a contact lens, which can be a lengthy and traumatic process for them all.
Dave said: “Leanne and I found it very hard to take in, we didn’t think children got cataracts, but Mr Chandna and his team worked really hard to help Maisy and to reassure us.
“vision4children is the charity set up by Mr Chandna, they support parents whose child has a life affecting condition and they are also doing valuable research into childhood cataracts, which is the most common cause of childhood visual impairment in the world.
“vision4children’s cataract project will lead to better treatment methods and better outcomes for children like Maisy who are born with a cataract”.
He added: “Doing this parachute jump is my way of doing something to say thank you and to raise funds and awareness of the work of vision4children, even though I am terrified of heights.”
Dave and his wife Leanne, 24, have raised more than £700 already and have also planned a car wash in the car park of Harvester Stanney Oaks, where they both work, on Sunday, December 1.
You can support him by visiting
