AN ALMONDBURY teenager is taking to the skies to celebrate his mum’s amazing recovery from bowel cancer.
Patrick Wondergem, 18, will be jumping from a plane when he takes part in a tandem sky dive next month.
The laboratory technician will be raising money for Beating Bowel Cancer, after his mother and grandmother were both affected by the disease.
His grandmother Kathleen Meehan died from the illness when she was just 60.
Six weeks later, his mum Fiona Wondergem – her daughter – was given the devastating news she was also suffering from the condition.
She was just 40 at the time and had three children under nine.
Fiona, now 49, said: “It was really traumatic but sometimes you just have to get on with it.
“Even with my family history, I still didn’t think it would happen to me.
“It was a real shock, especially because I didn’t feel I fitted into any of the risk categories. I wasn’t overweight, never smoked, hardly drank and was generally fit and well.
“But I was lucky. It just wasn’t my time.”
Fiona, a nursing lecturer at Huddersfield University, visited her GP after she became concerned about changes in her bowel habits.
“My nursing background meant I was aware of bowel cancer,” she said.
“But, at first, I was looking after my mum so I put a lot of my symptoms down to stress.
“The symptoms were a bit like irritable bowel and I was going to the toilet a lot. I hadn’t had any blood but there had been some mucus.
“It had been happening for a few months so I went to my GP, who said I looked fit and well, but reluctantly referred me because of my family history.”
Fiona was diagnosed with rectal cancer after specialists discovered a large tumour.
She underwent surgery and then endured weeks of chemotherapy.
She was then given the news that she was in remission.
And to celebrate, in 2006, Fiona embarked on a fundraising mission trekking through Borneo’s Crocker Jungle and climbing Mount Kinabalu to raise more than £8,000.
Now, her son Patrick has set himself a challenge to give bowel cancer sufferers a boost.
Patrick, who works at John Cotton Group, in Mirfield, will be heading to Lancaster on May 12 to take part in a sky dive.
He is hoping to raise £500 for the cause.
Fiona added: “It is something close to our hearts after what our family has been through.
“If people can detect it and treat it early, it will help families stay together.
It is really important for people to be aware of their toilet habits and if there are any changes or they feel unwell to see a doctor.”
People can sponsor Patrick’s skydive at:
