A BRAVE mum is set to jump out of a plane from 10,000ft to thank a charity who helped when her son was seriously ill.
Tegan Scrivener, from Purleigh, will take on the heart-stopping challenge for The Sick Children’s Trust.
Her son Herbert was born at 32 weeks after he stopped growing due to the placenta not functioning properly.
He arrived weighing just 2lb and 10oz at Broomfield Hospital back in 2016.
Herbert was diagnosed with a perforated bowel, which caused his stomach to dramatically expand and required urgent surgery.
He was rushed to The Rosie Hospital in Cambridge, more than 60 miles away from Southminster, where the Scrivener family lived at the time.
Tegan, a mum of six, said: “I only saw Herbert for a few moments before he was rushed into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
“We all knew that something wasn’t right because his tummy was blowing up like a balloon."
Herbert was taken to Cambridge under blue lights alongside dad Neil.
Despite being unwell herself Tegan later travelled to fill out forms needed for Herbert's operation.
She said: "With Herbert being so tiny we knew there was a chance he might not make it through, which made things almost unbearable.
“It was such a huge relief to see him afterwards."
Herbert had a stoma created during the surgery on his bowel and was fitted with a tube so her could be fed milk after dropping to 2lb 7oz.
During their time in Cambridge, Tegan stayed at Chestnut House run by The Sick Children’s Trust.
Tegan said having a room so close to the hospital “made life so much easier.”
After four weeks, Herbert had gained enough weight to transferred back to Broomfield Hospital.
However he fell ill with both Rotavirus, a stomach bug, and Adenovirus and was blue-lighted back to Cambridge for a blood transfusion.
The Sick Children’s Trust was again on hand to provide a room.
Tegan said: “You’d never know he’d had these issues as a baby Herbert is the youngest of my six children and was clearly the troublemaker.
Tegan is taking part in The Sick Children’s Trust’s 40 skydivers challenge in celebration of the charity’s 40th anniversary.
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