Wolverhampton health worker takes to the skies for fundraising skydive after tragic loss
A healthcare worker has traded their scrubs for a jumpsuit as they completed a skydive to fund crucial bleed kits.
Daredevil, Martyne Johnson, a portering supervisor at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, jumped from a moving plane to help raise money for the bleed kits following the loss of her brother.
The NHS worker is the older sister of Tom Kirwan, the 23-year-old who tragically lost their life after being stabbed outside the former Uberra nightclub in Wolverhampton in 2012.
To mark her 40th birthday, and the 11th anniversary of Tom's death, the mother of two, plus three members of her family, took to the skies to jump out of a plane at 14,000 feet in Nottingham.
Martyne said: "The freefall was only about 20 seconds but it felt long enough. you're told to put your legs and arms under your nose otherwise you could have a bad crash landing it feels so tight in your harness that it’s difficult, but when you see the ground coming, you somehow manage it.
"It was amazing, a fantastic day and a fantastic experience, I don’t like heights and it was well out of my comfort zone so it’s not an experience I’d rush to do again."
Martyne's original target was to raise enough money to buy 40 of the £85 kits – one for each year of her life – but her fundraising has been so successful that the total stands at nearly £9,500 – enough to buy more than 100 of the kits.
The kits, which contain gauze to pack wounds, and a seal to stop air from getting into the body, can be used to stop bleeding from incidents such as stab wounds, crashes and trauma bleeds until first responders arrive.
Martyne is now busy placing orders for the kits, which anyone can have for free, provided they attend a training day at Collins Aerospace on Stafford Road, Fordhouses on November 14.
People can still donate to Martyne's fundraiser by visiting her Gofundme page at gofund.me/41f90a2a
