The sky’s the limit as Shannon salutes grandpa
Mum aims to conquer her fears
A young Paisley mum is planning a skydive in memory of her grandfather to raise funds for the Stroke Awareness charity.
Shannon Duffy, 22, lost her beloved 79-year-old grandpa John Duffy at the age of 13 in 2008 when he passed away as a result of a blood clot.
Shannon said: “There are over 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK with 100,000 strokes happening in the UK each year.
“That’s one stroke every five minutes.
“Unfortunately, my grandpa was one of those victims.
“He suffered a stroke when I was 13 and sadly passed away weeks later as a blood clot formed on his brain.
“This impacted myself and my family severely as he was the head of the family and, in my eyes, my best friend.”
Shannon’s three- year- old daughter Sofi has been taught all about the legacy left by her great grandfather and is willing her mum on.
“She’s got a wee picture of him next to her bed.
“She talks to it all the time. She calls it her grandpa.
“I don’t think she’ l l understand too much but she is coming to watch,” said Shannon.
John, originally from Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland, was just a week away from celebrating his 80th birthday when he died.
He moved to Scotland when he was around 28 and Shannon says he never lost his Irish accent.
Shannon, who is a construction supervisor with Clark Contracts in Paisley, is feeling a little nervous about her challenge.
“I think somebody will need to give me a shove but it’ll be worth it when I reach the ground,” she said.
“My pals think I’m crazy, but my mum and dad are proud.”
Shannon’s Just Giving page details how her grandfather hoped to die with peace and grace – and how she intends to conquer her biggest fear of heights in his honour for the charity.
She added: “I wish to make him proud by conquering my biggest fear of heights in support of such an amazing charity that works so hard for all stroke survivors, victims and families of those victims.
“I always wanted to do a skydive.
“Now I think I can get over my fear because I’m doing it for a good cause.”
You can donate to Shannon’s JustGiving appeal by going online at www. justgiving.com/fundraising/ shannon-duffy
I wish to make him proud by conquering my fear of heights in support of such an amazing charity that works so hard for all stroke survivors, victims and families Shannon Duffy