Grateful Dad Takes to the Skies in Heartfelt Thanks for Our Hospital

A grateful dad took to the skies for an adrenaline-fueled skydive, raising over £2,000 for our charity in heartfelt thanks for the life-saving surgery received by his daughter.  

Aaron Martin, from Coventry, braved his fears and took on a 13,000-foot tandem skydive, fulfilling a promise he’d made to himself after our hospital’s surgeons removed a major tumour from his daughter’s brain. 

Rosie was only four years old when she started getting bad headaches and vomiting at night. At first, doctors thought it might be a viral infection, but the pain and sickness kept coming back, and Aaron and his partner, Leanne, were very worried.  

They took their daughter for an eye test to see if eye problems might be causing the headaches, but the optometrist found signs of something more serious. The anxious parents took Rosie to their local hospital, and after an urgent CT scan, doctors broke the dreadful news that Rosie had a benign brain tumour and would need an emergency operation. 

Rosie was rushed to our Children’s Hospital under blue lights, and our specialist surgeons operated on the little girl for twelve hours to remove the tumour, while her frightened family could only wait and hope. 

After hours of dread and worry, Aaron and Leanne were overjoyed when doctors told them the surgery had been a success and the tumour had been removed. Aaron decided there and then that he wanted to fundraise for the hospital, promising to do a skydive – though his partner didn’t quite believe him.  

Rosie spent five more weeks at our hospital, and is now back at home, recently celebrating her sixth birthday. While she continues to do well, there are unfortunately now signs that her brain tumour has started to come back, and she continues to be monitored and cared for by our doctors. It’s a worrying time for the family, but they are still so grateful she is in such good hands, and that ou Children’s Hospital has been there for them every step of the way.  

Rosie and her dad, Aaron

Aaron was determined to follow through on his earlier promise, taking 13,000-feet into the skies for a tandem skydive, with 45 seconds of free fall. He asked his friends and family to support his efforts, and was gobsmacked when he beat his initial fundraising target in under 24 hours. 

Aaron said: “It was a traumatic time for us, but the care at Birmingham Children’s Hospital was absolutely amazing from start to finish. A skydive isn’t my idea of fun and it’s never been on my bucket list, but I’m glad to be able to support such a good cause.  

“Seeing so many people supporting the charity is a brilliant feeling, knowing the money will make a big difference to other families going through same experience we did.” 

Annie Eytle, Head of Public Fundraising, said: “Learning that your child needs life-saving surgery is one of the most terrifying things any parent can go through, and we know it must have been extremely frightening for Aaron and Leanne.  

“We know that the family are still going through difficult times and Rosie continues to need our care. But we are so grateful that Aaron has taken on this adrenaline-fueled challenge and raised a fantastic amount for our hospital, helping us continue to deliver the best possible care, equipment and environments for sick kids.”