9:08am Saturday 11th July 2009
A HAMPSHIRE teenager is due to take a 10,000ft plunge today in memory of the brother she never had the chance to meet.
Sapphira Flavell, 16, was summoning all her courage to dive out of a plane to mark the 20th anniversary of Leukaemia Busters, the charity founded by her parents when their first child, Simon, was diagnosed with the killer disease.
Simon died aged just ten, but his parents David and Bee have turned personal tragedy into hope for thousands of youngsters fighting the disease.
Their research into better treatments and to find a cure has helped transform what used to be a death sentence into life for three-quarters of children now diagnosed.
So to mark the milestone 20 people are doing a skydive to raise money for the Southampton-based charity and one of those brave divers will be the Flavell’s youngest daughter, known as Saffy.
David said: “We wanted to do something special to mark such a milestone but I never imagined my daughter would want to be one of those jumping from the plane.
“I am worried sick but she is determined to do it in memory of her brother. It will be a very special day for us all.
“Over the past 20 years we have achieved so many breakthroughs with our research, making treatments much more effective for those suffering with the disease, but we will not stop until we have found the cure.”
Saffy said: “This is a charity which is a large part of my family history so I wanted to do this skydive in memory of my brother.”
When the charity launched in 1989, it was Daily Echo readers who helped raise the £150,000 needed to build the Simon Flavell Research Laboratory at Southampton General Hospital.
The money raised from the skydive at Salisbury will go towards the charity’s work into antibody therapies, which will make treatment for sufferers safer and more effective.
If you would like to sponsor the skydiving team call 023 8063 6611 or visit justgiving.co.uk/ saffy-flavell.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/trade_directory/