Teen cancer survivor jumps at fundraiser

Teenage cancer survivor Siobhan Pirrie will be able to add a tandem skydive to her list of hair-raising stunts to raise funds for charity later this month.

The 18-year-old made a promise to herself to live her life to the full after she was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just 13 years old.

After gruelling treatment and side-effects which led to her needing a hip and knee replacement, Siobhan, who lives in Linlithgow Bridge, is in remission from the disease.

She will now complete a tandem skydive over St Andrews next Sunday after the challenge, originally meant to take place last Saturday, was postponed because of low-lying clouds.

Siobhan, who has smashed her 1,000 fundraising target for the Teenage Cancer Trust by 200, said: "I'm really nervous about it. It will be between 10,000 and 15,000 feet, with a 5,000ft freefall drop.

"I was psyched up for doing it so I was a bit disappointed that it got cancelled."

The charity is planning to build a new unit for teenagers in Edinburgh's Sick Kids Hospital, where Siobhan received treatment after being diagnosed.

The Oatridge College student said: "I'm just doing all the stuff I have wanted to do.

"I was cooped up in a room all day in hospital for months at a time and I just wanted to get outside.

"I think the whole experience has had a positive effect on my life since.

"I always thought when I was in hospital I would never get back to normal so maybe this is just me wanting to prove there is life after cancer and you can live it to the full."

Siobhan says she wants to give something back to make things easier for others in a similar situation.

"I didn't really have too much to do with the charity when I was getting treatment but I know they are setting up new units for teenagers across Scotland," said Siobhan, who will celebrate her 19th birthday the day after the skydive.

"I was in the Sick Kids general ward and I was in the base for younger kids.

"The most time I spent in hospital in one spell was four months where I suffered lots of infections as I was catching everything going.

"I know what it is like to be a teenager and be stuck in with the little kids. It would have been nice to have an area away from the younger ones for the teenagers as we have different needs."

Siobhan faced gruelling chemotherapy and steroid treatments, the latter of which caused a rare bone disorder called osteonecrosis (bone death).

This led to her left hip and right knee being replaced, and her left knee will also have to be replaced in the future.

But despite all the setbacks, Siobhan is determined not to let anything hold her back.

The former Bathgate and Linlithgow Academy pupil has started a country management course at Oatridge College and has an apprenticeship with West Lothian Council.