Bedfordshire mums take on group skydive to raise money for brain cancer foundation in memory of their children

Three Bedfordshire mums will be jumping out of a plane in memory of their young children, who died from brain tumours.

Louise Fox, from Barton-le-Clay, Natasha Taylor from Luton, and Niki Odea Patel from Woburn, will be jumping on October 14 in memory of their children George Fox, who died in April 2022, aged 13; Renai Taylor-Fraser who died in August 2022, aged 11; and Shay Patel, who died in September 2020, aged 13.

The mums are teaming up with others from across the UK to raise funds for the Tessa Jowell Foundation (TJF), which was founded to fulfil the legacy of Tessa Jowell MP, who also died from a brain tumour in 2018.

The money will go towards the development of the Tessa Jowell Centres of Excellence for Children.

Louise said: “We were always set on it being a skydive as we wanted to be close to our children, and push ourselves out of our comfort zone. I'm terrified of heights, so are so many of the other mums, but it feels appropriate to be out of our comfort zone and have to be brave as we've had to see our children be braver than anyone can ever imagine.

"I feel very proud to be doing this with such brave, inspirational ladies. We've all fought hard for our children when they were here with us, and it's important to us all that their memories live on. George knows how scared I am of heights, so I know he would be so proud of me doing this. Our children's lives must not be in vain, people don't know how devastating a brain tumour is until they are sadly on the journey. Things need to change.”

Niki said: “Our advice to support any family facing a similar diagnosis is to be your child's advocate and leave no stone unturned, but above all else enjoy the time you have with your child. Just 1% of cancer funding is spent on brain tumours even though it kills more children and young adults under 40 than any other cancer. This has to change in order for improved treatment options and the zero survival prognosis families of these types of tumours are given.”

She added: “I feel it’s disgraceful the amount of funding that has historically been put into the research of brain tumours, it makes us feel that our children do not matter. If more had been done 10-15 years ago we may not be sitting here now without our gorgeous boy. Parents in this day and age should not be told there is no hope of their child surviving cancer.

“Treatment options have not changed in over 30 years, how can this be the case? It's not a rare disease and we have lost so many children we have met along our journey. They all deserved a future and we will continue to raise awareness and campaign for greater funding to help families of the future. It's sadly too late for our children.”

The group has currently raised around twelve thousand pounds. To donate, visit the group’s JustGiving page.