A DARING pair of lifesavers from the ambulance service will be reaching new heights – to send a seriously ill little boy on a dream trip to Disneyland. The fundraising skydive for the MPS Society (The Society for Mucopolysaccharide Diseases) is in aid of four-year-old Harry Hudson, the son of their colleague, paramedic Sharon Hudson, who is based in Flint. Harry, from Newton, in Chester, suffers from a very rare condition, Hunter Syndrome, which means he may not live beyond his teens. He was only diagnosed earlier this year and Welsh Ambulance Service colleagues are determined to help. Denise Taylor and ambulance technician Lyndsey Hill, also based at Flint, will be doing the parachute jump today (Friday). Meanwhile, ambulance staff, friends and family are also planning a fundraising bike ride from Prestatyn to Llandudno. A grateful Sharon, whose husband Paul is a teacher, said: “Lyndsey and Denise are bonkers. They’ve said they will jump out of a plane and it just shows how kind people can be. “They’re really great friends and we really appreciate what they’re doing for us.” Harry, who attends Mickle Trafford Primary School, was only diagnosed with the complaint in May: “He had had his share of problems,” explains Sharon who has been in the Ambulance Service for 10 years. “He had his tonsils and adenoids out when he was two but we just thought he was a normal little boy until the doctor decided to do this test and discovered he has Hunter’s. “It means he can’t produce an enzyme and never will be able to so it affects his development and can cause all sorts of problems, although we hope he has the milder form of the disease. “We just hope they can do something and they say they are very near a cure, otherwise boys with it don’t usually live past their teens.” At the moment Sharon and Paul take Harry to Manchester Children’s Hospital every Monday to have a three-hour infusion of the enzyme but they hope soon that a “port” will be fitted so he can have the treatment at home. In the meantime they must also live with the knowledge that Harry’s two-year-old sister Libby may also be a carrier of the condition which is passed through the mother’s side but affects only boys. “You don’t get much training for this,” adds Sharon. Their plight has touched the hearts of her Welsh Ambulance Service colleagues who decided to do something to help. The idea for the parachute jump came from Lyndsey, 32, from Holywell, who says: “I’ve got children of my own and the thought of what Sharon and Paul have been through and what little Harry has in front of him is so sad. “They’re a lovely couple, fantastic people. There are people out there who don’t deserve children and great people like Sharon and Paul. “What we hope is with the money we raise they can take little Harry to Disneyland and he can have a wonderful time.” Denise, 47, from Flint, adds: “I’ve just become a grandmother myself and I’ve got three boys and a girl so my heart goes out to Sharon and Paul. “I don’t know what possessed me to agree to do a parachute jump though – I’m terrified. But what little Harry is going through is pretty drastic.” The intrepid pair will go to Whistock Airfield, near Whitchurch in Shropshire, this morning for the parachute jump and Harry and his family will be there to watch them. “I think they just push us out of the plane,” explains Lyndsey: “We’re attached to our instructors and we free fall for a while and then when the parachute opens we can guide ourselves down. I’m scared of flying and of heights but I’ve always wanted to do a parachute jump so this is my chance.” If you would like to make a donation to the appeal send cheques made payable to the MPS Society and send them to Sharon Hudson, 55 Brook Lane, Chester. | 
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