Gary’s leap of faith inspired by Amy’s death

Gary Roper, of Sycamore Way, Birstall, will take part in a sponsored tandem sky dive in aid of Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.

His wife Angela, now a carer for the trust, was inspired to change her career after the death of their daughter Amy, aged two.

Mrs Roper gave birth to twins in 1995, but their daughter died from Pearson’s disease - a rare condition which affects the cells of many different organ systems.

Mr Roper said: “When we had our children, Ben and Amy, we found out Amy’s condition was terminal. You never think your child is going to die.

“You do everything you can and see all the specialists, but it was just crushing.”

The 49-year-old said the couple went through a “personal nightmare” and he battled depression for two years.

Amy’s death prompted Mrs Roper to leave her job in engineering for care work.

She worked supporting adults with disabilities, before joining the hospice.

Her husband said: “Angela had always wanted to get into that kind of work and she worked hard to get into it.”

When asked about the dive,