Spectacular mass skydive event near Peterborough raises £50k for Medical Detection Dogs charity

Scores of people took to the sky near Peterborough in the most dramatic way to raise money for the national charity, Medical Detection Dogs, over the weekend

On Saturday, July 25, 44 brave volunteers – mostly healthcare professionals and patients – threw themselves out of a perfectly good aircraft at Sibson Aerodrome.

Thankfully, all of the bold osteopaths and chiropractors, as well as their patients and colleagues were attached to experienced skydivers for the rapid descent back towards terra firma.

Steven Bruce, Director of The Academy of Physical Medicine, organised the event.

"It's one thing agreeing to jump out of an aeroplane over a cup of coffee – it's another thing to find yourself sitting in the aircraft doorway at 13,000 feet,” he mused.

“We had no idea how many people would volunteer, nor how much we’d be able to raise, but this is amazing,” he said.

Steven noted the heightened anticipation and dramatic conclusions made for quite a “buzz” on the day.

“There were nerves beforehand, of course, but the smiles on everyone’s face as they landed said it all,” he said.

“At least one of the jumpers is coming back to do the full freefall course!”

Steven and his band of fearless fundraisers have already raised more than £49,000 to put towards the training and upkeep of medical detection dogs.

These canine lifesavers are quite astonishing. With their incredible sense of smell, they can detect minuscule changes in a person’s body odour that can indicate the presence of

disease or the onset of a medical problem. Amazingly, full-trained dogs can detect life-threatening diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's disease and bacterial infections (such as urinary tract infections).

“The effect on people who depend on these dogs is unquantifiable,” Steven said: “It’s life changing.”

The director acknowledged that these magnificent early-warning systems aren’t cheap:

“The lifetime cost of a single dog is £29,000,” he said, “but the saving to the NHS is around £78,000.”

Steven is desperate to reach the event’s original £100,000 target:

“We’ve currently raised enough for 1.7 dogs and I’m determined to get that last few thousand so that we can fund two.”

Donations are still coming in. Anyone who would like to contribute can do so by visiting wonderdogs.uk

Katie Banfield, an osteopath from Banfield, decided to take part in the jump after her own pet spaniel, Alfie, alerted her to a fast-growing cancer in her breast.

“I was patting Alfie when he suddenly nuzzled in under my breast and stayed there,” she recalled. “It was most unusual, so I got it checked out the following week and they found a two-centimetre tumour. He’s a very special dog!”

Another of those jumping was osteopath Sarah Gray, whose three-year-old daughter, Mimi, suffers from Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, a potentially fatal condition with symptoms that can progress to full-blown anaphylaxis.

Medical Detection Dogs can provide 10 minutes’ warning of an attack, enabling people like Mimi and her parents to deal with the problem in good time, avoiding the need for Epipens or A&E care.

If you would like to help Steven and his team fund Medical Detection Dogs then visit wonderdogs.uk