A brave Paisley woman has taken on the ultimate fundraising challenge in aid of the Hospice that cared for her late mother, Andrea.

Jo Lawtie leapt from 10,000 feet up as part of a skydive in aid of Renfrewshire’s ACCORD Hospice raising over £1,300 – to help fund palliative and end of life care to people living with or affected by a life limiting illness.

The 37-year old took on the skydive at Auchterarder with the aim of raising money as a thank you to the Hospice teams who cared for her mum during her battle with cancer – and to raise awareness of the Hospice’s work.

Overcoming her fear of the plane, the height of the jump and even her travel sickness, Jo faced the challenge head on and, so far, has raised almost £1,000 as a result of her brave feat which, she says, is nothing compared to some of the challenges patients using ACCORD Hospice have to face.

She said: “I am so proud to have taken on such a terrifying challenge in aid of ACCORD Hospice. All of the kind donations from friends and family, as well as thinking about the staff at the Hospice really motivated me to make the jump – and it ended up being one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I think my mum would have been proud of me too.

“To me, ACCORD Hospice is the best possible cause in the world to raise money for. People in Renfrewshire and the surrounding area don’t realise how incredibly lucky they are to have such an amazing local facility available should they ever need it. The work they are able to do as a result of charitable donations is nothing short of incredible, and they deserve every penny donated.

“My mum was treated by the doctors at ACCORD Hospice for years, as they helped manage her pain throughout her cancer treatment and, when the time came last August, she was admitted as an in-patient for the last few months of her life. Both the in-patient and out-patient teams were just fantastic, giving respite to my grandparents during my mum’s treatment and then keeping my mum comfortable during those difficult final weeks. And above all, she was always treated like a person, not a patient.

“Every single member of staff – from the occupational therapists, chefs and physiotherapists to the doctors, nurses and counsellors – are absolute angels who deal with the most heart-breaking situations, and my family will never be able to thank them enough. There are no words to describe what a special place the Hospice is, and we are forever grateful that our family was fortunate enough to have its care and support over the years.”

The family are committed to continuing their run of ACCORD Hospice fundraising events, with Jo’s sister Kimberley gearing up to take part in the ACCORD Firewalk later this year.

David McFadden, Fundraising Manager at ACCORD, said: “We cannot thank Jo enough for her brave efforts, and are grateful to each and every person who donated generously to her in the run-up to her skydive. You are an inspiration to us all!’