It’s been months in preparation and now June 19th has arrived when local businessman John Burton finally takes to the skies for the parachute jump which will raise further funds for Harriet Gregory.
Previously publicised on local radio John explained how he has the most terrible fear of heights and how it has taken every emotion possible to try an overcome his fear and jump from the plane.
We were all very excited that Harriet was nearly two and that she not going to spend her second birthday in hospital.
It was always going to be hard deciding what to do on Harriet`s second birthday, as she was simply very limited as to what she could do and with the weather being very unpredictable, we needed to make sure that it was not to cold, rainy or windy.
We looked on the internet for areas that would be suitable for children with disabilities and special needs, but there was simply nothing that was geared towards children like Harriet.
Harriet had been referred to see the Gastrostomy surgeon at the Queen Medical Centre in Nottingham, as her consultants were concerned that the nasal gastric tube that was feeding Harriet feed and medicines may start to cause problems with her breathing.
The appointment came through within a few months and although we were both very anxious about going to see the surgeon, we knew that it was something we had to do in order to find out whether this would help Harriet in the long term.
We arrived at the QMC, just before 10.00 am and made our way to the children`s outpatient area at the hospital, the nurse booked Harriet in and then took her measurements and weight.
After a few minutes we were called into see the Mr. Singh, who was the consultant surgeon for this type of procedure. He asked how Harriet was and whether she had developed any further problems.
We told Mr. Singh that although Harriet was very complex and had ongoing neurological problems, that she was currently stable and happy within herself.
On April 3rd 2011 Shirley Insley on the left and Melissa Insley on the right, completed the Derby 10k race in 1 hour and 5 minutes after training for more than six months for the event .
Melissa and Shirley contacted us a few months before the event and asked if they could raise funds for the Help Harriet Trust, as they had both read alot about Harriet and what we were trying to do for her.
The mother and daughter team managed to raised an amazing £547.50 from family and friends.
