Got Guts! Liam Wood to Parachute Jump for Crohn’s and Colitis UK!

A young man from Llanelli has set himself the challenge of raising £750 for charity by skydiving at Swansea Airport this April.

Liam Wood is 18 years old and was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 15, a painful and debilitating illness that led to him missing his last year of school, having to be home tutored in order to pass his GCSE’s.

Liam remarked that “At 15 years old I should have been out socialising with my friends not lying in my bed so ill I couldn’t get up.”

Liam had to have surgery for an abscess and later for a fistula.  Liam stated that he’s still on medication and has had a couple of flare ups that required further treatment.

Liam sent the West Wales Chronicle a letter in which he stated that:

“Even though my biggest goal is to raise as much money as I can to support Crohn’s and Colitis UK I would also love to be sponsored by my idol Ed Sheeran, even if it’s a pound I will be more than happy. I would appreciate it if everyone could help me get my message across to him as his music helped me through my tough times.

300,000 people across the UK have been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). IBD is an often misunderstood and relatively unknown condition but there are more people living with IBD than Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis combined.

It is largely a hidden condition, and one that causes stigma, anxiety and isolation, with many people going undiagnosed for a long time and suffering in silence.

We need this to change and this is why I’ll be doing a skydive to raise much needed funding, awareness and publicity for Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

I want to do all I can to make people aware of this unpredictable, devastating, life changing, life-long and potentially life-threatening condition with no cure. IBD can have a devastating effect on a person’s education, work, mental health and social & family life.

There is a desperate need for funding as almost all the money they receive comes from fundraising and donations. Crohn’s and Colitis UK are dedicated to finding a cure and fund clinical research that they hope will achieve this.”

On a positive note, Liam is currently in his second year of college studying computing and hopes to have a career in this field. He’s determined not to let his illness hold him back having developed a positive outlook on life as a result of everything that he’s experienced.

The Skydive will take place on 30th April 2016 and all the money raised will go to Crohn’s and Colitis UK.  Donations are welcome at his fundraising page (link follows)

https://www.justgiving.com/Liam-Wood18

(JustGiving – Is an easy to use web based system that allows charities and their supporters to collect funds online. This makes collecting money totally secure, transparent and a very easy ask for anyone undertaking a fundraising event for charity. It also can help ensure that money is collected in the most tax efficient way.)