A big thank you to everyone who donated. In total, we have raised over £2,300 for Manchester Children's Hospital which is a fantastic amount which also meant there was no chickening out for me when it came time to jump! The parachute jump was an amazing experience but not recommended for the faint hearted; check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA4sIxtrPKo And there's still time to donate, use the links below; every penny counts.

Many thanks, Mark.                                   Emily's story......

Last October, one of our daughters, Emily (15 months old at the time) contracted Meningococcal septicaemia (Meningitis). From first seeing the tell tale deep purple spots; it was just a couple of hours before she was extremely poorly.

I remember vividly the moment the consultant explained that her body was shutting down, the doctors couldn’t get lines into her limbs and needed to insert bone and scalp needles and she needed to be ventilated. For anyone who has young children, nieces, nephews or grandchildren you can imagine the worry.

The hospital managed to stabilise Emily enough to transfer her to the new Manchester Children’s Hospital intensive care unit. Emily spent the next three days in a coma fighting the after-effects of meningitis before the doctors started to bring her out of it. It was in the small hours of the nights sat at her bedside that my wife and I came to the realisation of what a fantastic service our NHS provides. I have never seen such level of professionalism and dedication that these doctors, nurses and support staff demonstrated and when you are in a crisis situation as this, you need every bit of help you can get!

I am relieved to say that once Emily was brought out of the coma and taken off life support, she made a speedy recovery (kids bounce back). My wife and I and all of our family and friends owe so much to Manchester Children’s Hospital and here’s why I am telling you this story...

On 18^th September I will be doing a freefall parachute jump from 10,000 feet for Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity and I need your support. I will be paying for the event myself (£270) so every penny you donate will go to the charity.

Although the hospital is a new facility, it needs hundreds of thousands of pounds to upgrade computer systems and patient and family care and unfortunately this is not funded by the government. I would very much appreciate any donation you can make for this fantastic cause, take it from me that the facility and all staff at Manchester Children’s Hospital are world class, let’s help keep it so.

Many thanks for your help,

Mark Crane