Grays Resident Gary Accomplishes Another Bucket List Wish With Indoor Skydiving Experience

A member of the Grays community, Gary Thowney, has completed another major accomplishment and long-standing wish: indoor skydiving.   Gary, who is 35 and lives with Cerebral Palsy, is this year enjoying many ‘firsts’ with support from his 24/7 Live-In Carer, Kennedy Madhombiro, who is part of the Manorcourt Homecare team.

Having returned from a summer trip to Costa Blanca where Gary fulfilled his wish to experience a one-to-one dolphin encounter, Kennedy has now helped to organise for Gary to enjoy the feeling of weightlessness that skydiving brings.

They visited the iFly centre in Milton Keynes where Gary took part in two ‘flights’ in total, which saw him floating in the air with support from the iFly team.  Gary’s father Keith also enjoyed two flights of his own, to share the overall experience with his son.

Talking about his skydiving experience, Gary said: “I spend a lot of my time in my wheelchair and I have always imagined how it feels to float in the air. Skydiving gave me this opportunity. Words cannot describe how I felt during this dive; it was absolutely amazing. Thank you to everyone who helped make this fantasy become reality.”

With daily support from Kennedy and the team at Manorcourt Homecare via their 24/7 Live-In Care service, Gary is able to live independently in his own home.   Talking about Gary’s latest adventure, Kennedy adds: “Gary doesn’t let his Cerebral Palsy get in the way of what he wants to do.  So far this year, he’s encountered dolphins, swum in salty sea waters, eaten seafood and enjoyed the delights of a sandy beach for the very first time; the indoor skydive is the icing on the cake!

“I’m delighted to support Gary to live as independently as possible; he has a real passion for life and absolutely no fear – he is a real inspiration to me.”