Blind teenager with brain tumour completes ‘brilliant’ skydive for charity

A blind teenager with a brain tumour was brimming with joy after completing a “brilliant” skydive to raise money for a cancer charity.

Jack Thompson, 16, was diagnosed with a low grade glioma, a type of brain tumour, on his optic nerve when he was four months old, which left him registered blind.

He has since undergone seven rounds of chemotherapy, proton therapy and needs to have regular brain scans and growth hormone injections every night.

However, the teenager, who lives in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, has always remained positive and since the age of seven has raised more than £160,000 for the charity Young Lives vs Cancer, which has supported him from a young age.

Jack’s skydive on Saturday at the SkyHigh Skydiving centre in Peterlee was his final daring pursuit before “retiring” from fundraising to concentrate on his GCSEs.

He told the PA news agency: “(The skydive) was brilliant.

“They harness you up and then you jump out of the plane and when you’re doing the freefall, it is very windy and you are moving at about 120 miles an hour, which I heard.

“Even in the space of 30 seconds going at that speed, you drop so much, but I love going fast.

“I also got to do a bit of steering of the parachute which was a great experience.”

His aunt Wendy, her friend Amy and Sam Hughes – a fundraising engagement manager at Young Lives vs Cancer – all tackled skydives too.

Jack has fundraised at Morrisons shops since 2018 and a manager at the supermarket’s store in Doxford Park also joined the group in completing the adventure on Saturday.

“They enjoyed it and Sam Hughes from Young Lives vs Cancer jumped at the last minute, but she said she would never do a skydive again,” Jack said.

He said if someone enjoys a “bit of a thrill” and “a bit of adrenaline”, they should “give it a go”.

Jack celebrated completing the skydive by having a party with his loved ones and said the door is still open for him to continue fundraising once he has finished his GCSEs.

Until then, another member of the Thompson family is set to take over.

“My sister Ava (nine) will be taking over and I may return once I’ve done my GCSEs.

“Sometimes we fundraise together and we’ll have a competition to see who can raise the most money.

“I want to do well in as many GCSE subjects as possible – hopefully all of them – and maths is my favourite.”

Pascale Harvie, president and general manager of JustGiving, said: “Jack’s dedication to supporting Young Lives vs Cancer is incredible and we are in awe of his determination to give back to the charity.

“From everyone at JustGiving we want to congratulate Jack on his epic skydive and we cannot wait to see what fundraising activity he takes on next.”

Jack said support from people following his story has been “amazing” and “greatly appreciated” and his JustGiving page can be accessed here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/sam-hughes-1707841745519