A newlywed diagnosed with incurable cancer has raised more than £4k in a daring wing walk to help others like him.
John Calway, of Dorchester raised the impressive amount for fellow bowel cancer sufferers despite having a fear of flying.
He was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer a year ago, aged 42. The cancer is now stage four and having spread to John's lungs, it is sadly incurable.
Plucky John is donating the money raised to Dorset based bowel cancer charity the Ducks & Drakes Cancer Trust.
It has been quite the summer for the adventurous fundraiser, who married his fiancee Sarah in the summer.
And more than a year after booking the wing walk and after a rollercoaster of ups and downs with the cancer and various treatments, John got on the plane.
Sarah said: “It had previously been cancelled due to the plane breaking, which didn’t fill us with confidence, so we were pleased to arrive on the day and see that the plane appeared to be in full working order!
"The weather wasn’t great, we arrived at the airfield in rain and lots of cloud so it was doubtful whether it would go ahead. There was lots of waiting around, which allowed extra time for John’s nerves to build.
"He doesn’t like flying at the best of times, so this took an enormous amount of grit and determination.
"I think the worst bit was when he was going down the runway preparing for take-off and again when he was landing.
"He also hadn’t been prepared for quite how cold and windy it was going to be up there!”
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Sarah said that John was 'delighted' to have completed the daring feat.
She added: "He said it was 'an amazing experience, slightly daunting but exciting and for a great cause.'”
The wing walk was John's second fundraiser for Ducks and Drakes, having previously raised funds for the Trust by helping to organise a local gig.
So far, John's JustGiving page has raised £4,241 and you can still donate here:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-calway
Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust was founded to help save lives and promote wellbeing by raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer and specifically bowel cancer in young people, in Dorset and UK and to support local cancer services, bowel cancer patients and their families through the provision of specialist medical equipment and financial aid.
Find out more about their work at www.ducksdrakescancertrust.org.uk/
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