A Blantyre woman has completed a skydive from 10,000 feet in memory of her dad who passed away from Covid-19.
It was an emotional day for Shona Graham who decided to freefall to raise money for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Hairmyres Hospital where John Zenke was looked after before sadly passing away on December 6 last year.
The 61-year-old was perfectly fit and healthy but was found unconscious at home before paramedics rushed out and confirmed he had contracted the virus.
John then spent four weeks in an ICU up until his death. And now, daughter Shona has paid a massive tribute to the heroic staff in the ward who went the extra mile to support her and her mum, Lorna Zenke.
Family and friends have helped raise more than £1600 for Shona's sponsored skydive which took place in Glenrothes on Saturday.
The 31-year-old said she was extremely close with her dad and they were "best friends", with the past eight months being a completely heartbreaking time.
But John was in Shona's thoughts the whole time as she plunged from a plane at the weekend.
Shona told Lanarkshire Live: "When we got to 10,000ft the door opened and it was time to go. It all happened so quickly, I didn't even get the chance to feel scared or nervous.
"The freefall was just amazing it honestly was the best experience ever and all I kept thinking was my dad was with me and how he would of been so proud of me doing that for him.
"That's what kept me going I just wanted to make my dad proud of me."
John, remembered as a “true gentleman”, was a key worker during the pandemic, delivering food for Morrisons and took extra shifts to provide for people during lockdown.
Shona's loved ones all went along and watched her skydive and couldn't be more proud of her brave challenge.
Shona added: "It was the best experience and best day of my life.
"I couldn't have wished for the day to go any better. My family and friends all came along to cheer me on and support me, it was amazing.
"I am over the moon with the amount of money I have raised for ICU ward in Hairmyres.
"Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me through this, I couldn't of done it without you all."
In tribute to the ICU ward, Shona told us leading up to her skydive: “There are so many people who have lost their lives to this virus and they didn’t need to be taken away from us.
“I couldn’t think of any better reason to do it other than for my dad, and I wanted to give something back to the hospital.
“My heart goes out to those nurses, they just don’t seem to get enough credit for what they’ve done. The nurses took my dad on like family."
Shona's fundraiser is still active and donations can be made here.
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