St Helena Hospice worker loses weight and takes on skydive

Caroline Mann, 44, from Colchester, is a clinical support worker at St Helena Hospice, who was planning on taking part in a skydive charity event last year.

It was a sponsored skydive in aid of the hospice, and after visiting the skydive company’s website, she discovered she had passed the weight limit.

From there, she decided that she would “do it next year” and put her “mind to it”.

Weight loss journey - a photo of Caroline (Image: Public)

Caroline joined the Slimming World Great Horkesley group at the end of August last year after returning from a family holiday to Spain.

During her holiday, she was unable to go on rides at a water park due to the park's weight limits, leaving her feeling "really embarrassed".

Now, thanks to her determination, hard work and the support of her peers at Slimming World, Caroline has gone from 16.6 stone to 12.4 stone.

For the St Helena Hospice worker, there’s still a while to go but she is very proud of her weight loss journey so far.

As a milestone, Caroline took on the tandem charity skydive in Beccles, Suffolk, on July 12.

Taking the sponsored skydive on with a nurse from the hospice, the pair together has raised roughly £2,500.

Weight loss - Caroline Mann (Image: Public)

Caroline said: “It just felt amazing, obviously it is an experience, it was amazing to raise money for the hospice as it is so important to the community.

“I felt proud to be able to do it."

Speaking about her weight loss journey, Caroline is grateful for the support of Linda Duncan, who runs the Slimming World Great Horkesley and other groups in Colchester.

She said: "Linda has been amazing.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without their support, and being amongst likeminded people, and now I just feel like a new person, my joints used to ache, I used to get a bad back which I don’t anymore."

To find out more about Slimming World, visit slimmingworld.co.uk/counties/essex/colchester.