SAYING IT with flowers is one way to say thanks, but was not quite enough for courageous radiographer Carrie Goodship, who chose a more extreme way to say thank-you…by skydiving to raise money for the hospice that cared for her mom in the final months of her life.
Carrie, (41) from Erdington, was joined by some colleagues from the imaging department at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust as she took part in a skydive to raise money for the John Taylor Hospice in Erdington.
The hospice holds a very special place in Carrie’s heart, as her mom Gwen Swann was cared for by the John Taylor Hospice for the last nine months of her life.
When she was diagnosed with cancer, the family were told that she might only have two weeks to live, but Gwen lived for almost a year after her diagnosis, receiving care from the hospice team in the comfort of her own home until she passed away in January 2015, aged 67.
“They’ve been brilliant in supporting me and my family before and since my mom passed away, they helped us deal with the grief that we were feeling,” said Carrie.
“She was given a very short time to live but the staff at the hospice made it possible for her to live at home in the final months of her life. This is exactly what my mom wanted and we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Radiographer Carrie and her colleagues Lynn Chambers and Debbie Stanistreet, who is an ultra-sonographer, were among a group of 25 skydivers who jumped on the same day to raise money for the hospice.
“Before my mom passed away there were leaflets passed around the hospice and it was advertised on Facebook, which gave us a list of different options of fundraising.
“Me, Lynn and Debbie, had always talked about doing a skydive, and when we had the chance to do it in aid of this cause it was a definite ‘yes’,” said Carrie.
Carrie is a Reporting Radiographer mainly based at Sandwell Hospital and has had to undergo substantial training to gain the necessary qualifications for her role.
“I am a diagnostic radiographer but recently went back to university to complete a reporting course enabling me to report on X-rays in the same way and with the same responsibilities as the doctors.
“Part of my role involves using the state of the art CT scanners to produce more detailed X-ray images for diagnostic purposes.
“I always liked science subjects at school, but always wanted to work in healthcare also, nursing didn’t really drag me in but radiography did, because of the science element.”
In her spare time, Carrie enjoys socialising and spending time with her husband and their four-legged friend.
“I like taking my dog out for a walk and love going to the cinema.
“I also enjoy arts and crafts like card making, crocheting and looking after my niece.”
It is obvious that Carrie had a very close connection to her late mother and said that she is her hero without a doubt.
“She kept her head up the whole way through her illness and never complained about anything at all” she said lovingly.
As for what the future holds, Carrie would like to complete the qualifications of her reporting x-ray course in both axial skeleton (an area containing the skull and the rib-cage) and chest and abdomen reporting, but she doesn’t know if she will be throwing herself out of a plane again any time soon.
“It may sound like a cliché, but it was one of the greatest experiences of my life and it gave me such an adrenaline rush that I was on a high for a few weeks afterwards.
“At the time I thought I would do it again, but now I don’t think I would even though I did love it.”
Between them the courageous three have raised nearly £4,000 for the hospice
