Doncaster couple skydive for Jessops in memory of their two week old baby daughter

Roger Clark and Bec Eager took the plunge and leapt 15,000 feet to raise money for Sheffield’s Jessops Hospital, in tribute to the ’superhero’ staff who helped them after their daughter Esmé died two weeks after she was born there.

The Wheatley couple have raised a total of £2,600 after they completed the Jessops Superhero Skydive Skydive on Tuesday at Hibaldstow.

Roger, 39 said: “Bec went into early labour, so early that at that point Esmé was only 24 weeks and five days old so wasn’t ready for the outside world yet.

“As soon as Doncaster Royal Infirmary found but we were transferred over to the Jessops wing in Sheffield.”

Esmé arrived on Becs birthday, on November 3 2017.

Their tiny daughter was immediately transferred to the neonatal unit where she would spend two weeks where her love filled and courageous fight would sadly end.

“She was fine for the first week but she developed an infection that resulted in sepsis.

“We had to turn off the life support machine when she was just two weeks old.

"Esmé was and is a beautiful little girl who will always always be remembered and held deep in our hearts,” said Roger.

“After she passed they put us up in the flats behind the hospital so we could stay with her. We didn’t want to leave her even though she had gone at that point. They did a memorial service and we had a super hero day and since then we have helped them with their fundraising.

“Throughout our stay, which was around a month, and even up to this very minute all the Jessops staff have been amazing, they are the true superheroes of this world.

"Staff from the maternity ward, neonatal unit, the staff who helped us remain in a flat provided by the hospital and staff from the bereavement services have all been beyond immense. You simply cannot do their job without caring and being superheroes.

The couple have also done the National Three Peaks challenge and held coffee mornings for the charity they say is so close to their hearts.

“Everything we do whether it be walk/climb/hold events or the 2021 skydive is to try and give something meaningful back to Jessops in memory of Esmé. And help those that are in a similar position to what we were.

“The fundraising Jessops are doing at the moment is for a new bereavement suite so for us personally we stopped there for a week when Esmé had passed. We visited her every day – it was quite an important place for us to go afterwards. I took her outside and it was the only time she ever went outside.”

Roger and Bec took the daredevil plunge dressed as Captain America and Captain Marvel.

"I’m still buzzing from doing that. it was 15,000 feet with a one minute freefall at 120 mph. It was amazing and quite surreal,” said Roger. You can help their fundrasing here

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