A Flying Start

PP3 teaching assistant, Harrodian parent and leukaemia survivor, Lisa Jackson, above, is starting this academic year with a flying start. On 25 September she will be strapped to the top of a plane as part of a fundraising wing walk for DKMS. 

To celebrate five years of remission and recovery from leukaemia, Lisa is facing her fear of flying to raise money for a charity that was instrumental in saving her life and those of many other blood cancer patients. She will be completing the wing walk this September to mark Blood Cancer Awareness month with two of her friends, both of whom have been affected by blood cancer. 

They will each spend 10 minutes standing on the wing of a plane as it reaches over 100mph and soars up to 700ft in the air. With a fear of heights and flying, Lisa will definitely be pushed out of her comfort zone. "I am absolutely terrified but then I keep reminding myself that nothing is as scary as facing cancer," she says, when asked how she is feeling about the upcoming feat. 

Lisa feels incredibly lucky to have received a life-saving stem cell transplant from her sister - a match that was identified through DKMS's blood stem cell register. She feels very grateful for the second chance it gave her and consequently became an advocate and champion for the charity. Her main mission is to raise funds for the charity, build awareness and encourage more potential donors to sign up.

With only 2% of the population signed up on the DKMS blood stem cell register, there is a lot of work to do! That is why Lisa asked Harrodian alumnus and star actor, George Mackay, to help her spread the work by making a short video that explains how easy and quick it is to sign up as a donor by using a swab kit, please see the video below: 

​To support Lisa and the amazing work she is doing, please register as a blood stem cell donor with DKMS by clicking on the gold button below: 

AND/OR donate money to see Lisa and her friends complete their wing walk challenge by clicking the gold button below: