Jumping to bring a little joy!

Hi everyone,

My name is Paul Blake and I’m the Managing Director of four Bang & Olufsen stores in the East and South East of England. While many people have been upset they haven’t been able to go in a plane this year, I’m going to throw myself out of one. At 10,000 feet.

That might sound a bit mad to some, and while I literally will have my head in the clouds, I’m certain it’s my best ever decision as I’m doing it to help Ryno, my friend and colleague, and Amanda, his amazing fiancé, to become parents. Truth be told, Ryno’s probably thought many a time about throwing me out of a plane, but I’m happy to do it for him if it helps him and Amanda achieve their dream of what so many of us take for granted – simply being ‘Mum and Dad’.

Everyone’s had a rough time of late, but once you know even a little of their story, you’ll understand just what makes them so deserving of a helping hand and, for a change, some good fortune.

In a nutshell, a family is all they’ve ever wanted, but it’s proved a heart-breaking battle. They’ve endured the pain of three miscarriages, the frustration of unexplained fertility and in 2019 were given the devastating news that Amanda had cancer of her womb. To save her life, Amanda underwent a complete hysterectomy, bilateral oophorectomy, and removal of pelvic lymph-nodes.

After a difficult recovery and further health complications, Amanda was able to return to her beloved work this year as a NHS children’s nurse, caring for the very young and their families while all the time knowing that she cannot carry or conceive her own child. Ryno’s health has suffered too, the stress triggering epilepsy that he hadn’t experienced for 28 years.

Amanda’s sister will be a surrogate mum for the couple, but they have discovered that the IVF treatment and counselling will not be available through the NHS as Amanda does not have her own eggs. The cost of £24,000 has to be privately funded. Although they have raised £12,000 themselves, they simply cannot afford the other half to become parents.

On Wednesday 30th September I’ll be doing a sponsored skydive to help edge them closer to their target, and I’m hoping that you’ll be able to help, too. I’m not suggesting that you also jump out of a plane, but if you can spare anything or even just spread their story, it’s appreciated much more than you could ever imagine.

I am hoping to raise £10,000, (£1 for every foot i'm falling). Video footage of the sky dive will be uploaded for you all to view, once I've completed it!

All funds raised will be sent directly to Amanda and Ryno and will be used to fund the IVF they require. If any additional funds are raised above the target, this will be donated to:

Cancer Research UK - "Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer research charity it conducts research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease."

Mind - "Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems and lobbies government and local authorities on their behalf. It also works to raise public awareness and understanding of issues relating to mental health."

Epilepsy Society - "Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of people affected by epilepsy by promoting public awareness and education, by undertaking research and by delivering specialist medical care and support services."

Thanks for your time and, hopefully, with your help we can have Amanda and Ryno also flying high soon!