A great-grandmother with terminal cancer took a 13,000 feet leap of faith as she skydived from a plane this week to raise money for a cancer charity.
Rosa Kingston, 84, was told the ovarian cancer she has been battling since 2013 was terminal earlier this year.
After her diagnosis she was told without treatment at the Royal Marsden she would have less than two months to live.
Two years on, she sees herself jumping out of planes at Hinton Sky Diving Centre, in Brackley, Northants.
Rosa, who lives in Hertfordshire, said: “I will not go quietly though. I want to make every second count.
“Despite the fact that I would normally be scared stiff to dive from a plane, I planned to take one last leap because I can.”
Adrenalin rush has begun. Getting ready for my last leap! https://t.co/IgK08cdawK pic.twitter.com/VFI2fOdyCK
— Rosa Kingston (@RipcordRosa) October 14, 2015
An inspiring Rosa enjoyed the experience and is very happy to achieve what she set out to accomplish.
“The freefall was not terrifying. I had my arms out stretched and didn’t even realise I was going down,” she said.
“Then the parachute opened and that was the scariest part. My stomach turned.”
OMG! We flew to 13000 but London Air Traffic made us land because if the volume of air traffic! Waiting another 30 mins till action take 2
— Rosa Kingston (@RipcordRosa) October 14, 2015
Rosa, who was recently told she only has months to live, also explained how thankful she was to the staff at Royal Marsden Hospital.
She said: “The Royal Marsden has extended my life by two years. In that time I have experienced much joy.
“I saw my grandson get married, my granddaughter have her first baby, my Australian granddaughter and grandson graduate from university and my daughter getting engaged.
“Words cannot describe how grateful I am. It’s been a wonderful gift from Professor Gore, his team and all the staff at Royal Marsden.”
Rosa has raised more than an incredible £7,000 for the charity so far. The funds raised will be used for future research into ovarian cancer, so that a cure will be found.
The fundraising event is part of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity’s Big C Challenge, which is aiming to raise £80,000.
There are approximately 7,000 people diagnosed with this gynaecological cancer and the survival rate is still low, with only 43% surviving after five years.
You can sponsor Rosa by clicking here.
