Nurse will plunge 10,000ft to raise funds for St Nicholas Hospice Care

A nurse is set to face her fears and jump from dizzying heights in a bid to raise funds for a local hospice

Jo Vernau, a senior staff nurse at Mildenhall Lodge Care Home, will plunge 10,00ft in aid of St Nicholas Hospice Care when she completes a tandem skydive later this year.

Jo will be joined by five of her colleagues, who are also raising funds for various charities, when she takes her leap and she hopes as many people as possible will support her by helping her raise as much as possible for the hospice which cares for those across West Suffolk and Thetford in the final chapters of their lives.

Jo said: “I am petrified of heights so it will take a lot to do a jump so to do it for a very special reason gives me a good incentive.

“My dad died of cancer 30-years-ago when he was only 43. It was not a nice experience for any of us. I decided at that point when I became a nurse it would be so I could make whatever small differences to patients and their families to make their experience a little bit easier.

“Although I no longer work for a hospice, I know how important hospices are; this is just another way to give what I can to help out.”

Jo, who is also a palliative care champion and bereavement counsellor at the care home, will be jumping in Norwich on Saturday, September 30, and you can support her at justgiving/jo.verna