A teenager who suffers from cerebral palsy is preparing to leap from a plane to raise money for a north-east residential school.
Katy Wood, of Marchburn Drive, Aberdeen, will complete a tandem skydive in Fife next month and is hoping the stunt will raise hundreds of pounds for Camphill School at Milltimber.
The 19-year-old signed up for the challenge after seeing how the school has helped her younger sister Beth, who has severe autism, global developmental delay and obsessive compulsive disorder.
She said: “Beth has lived at Camphill for over eight years now and with their help has grown into a lovely young lady, who happens to have autism and other quite severe issues.
“Without Camphill, the future for Beth was looking very bleak indeed.
“I’m really looking forward to the jump, but I think I’ll probably be pretty nervous when I’m standing at the door of the plane.”
Her father, Ewan, admitted that he and his wife Catriona, 39, were “fairly hesitant” when their daughter decided to sign up for the challenge, but said she had already taken part in several other stunts, including walking on fire and glass.
Mr Wood, 38, praised the way Camphill had helped 16-year-old Beth, who had severe behavioural issues before she moved to the school.
He said: “The fact is that Camphill has helped our family tremendously and there is nothing we could say or do that would come even close to explaining how we feel about Camphill. It has pretty much saved our family.”
Miss Wood, a trainee nursery nurse, is hoping to raise £400 by completing the challenge on August 7. To sponsor her, go to www.justgiving.com/katy-wood
