Teenager Michael Foy’s skydive for his pal Spencer Owen (From Bournemouth Echo)

Teenager Michael Foy’s skydive for his pal Spencer Owen

3:00pm Wednesday 20th February 2013 in News By Darren Slade, Chief Reporter

THE sky is the limit for a teenager on a fundraising mission for his best friend.

Michael Foy, from Wool, is preparing to jump out of a plane from 15,000 feet to mark his and best pal Spencer Owen’s 16th birthday.

Spencer suffers from Ataxia Telangiectasia, a rare genetic disease that affects much of the body causing severe disability.

The two lads were born within eight minutes of each other at Dorset County Hospital and have been almost inseparable ever since.

The Purbeck School pupils will turn 16 on April 22 and six days later Michael will be heading off to Devon for his sky dive.

He said: “It is something I have always wanted to do and you have to be 16 to do it so I asked my parents if I could do it for my birthday.

“Then I was thinking about it and thought it would be a chance to raise some money for Spencer.”

Michael is determined to raise as much as he can to help Spencer with his brave fight against the disease and has set himself a target of £1,000.

He has already achieved an impressive £380 in pledges but it determined to keep going until he reaches his goal.

Michael said: “I wanted to do this for Spencer personally.”

Michael said he was looking forward to the sky dive and did not have any fears about leaping out of a plane at 15,000 feet.

Spencer, who also spends two days a week at the Victoria School in Bournemouth, said he was impressed with what his friend was doing for him and he was hoping to be there on the day to cheer Michael on.

Any money raised will be put into a fund that Spencer can use to fund his future care and access equipment like a new wheelchair.

Michael said he also hoped to take on some more fundraising challenges for Specncer after his sky dive.

He will be pounding the streets in Wool over coming weeks handing out sponsorship forms.

Anyone who wants to support Michael’s efforts can call 01929 405878.