THE sky is certainly the limit for a devoted mother from Chipping Sodbury who is preparing for a daredevil challenge to raise money for her disabled son.

Heidi Hennighan will step outside of a plane thousands of feet in the air not to parachute jump as she has done twice before but to perform a hair-raising wing walk in full view of her family below.

Mrs Hennighan, 46, wanted to find a daring stunt rarely done by fundraisers before asking for sponsorship in aid of her son, 16-year-old Thomas Parry.

“I am a bit nervous,” said Mrs Hennighan, who lives in Bowling Road with her husband Adrian, 50, a manager at the New Inn at Mayshill. “I haven’t asked too many questions about it, I just thought not many people do wing walks so hopefully more people will sponsor me.”

Wheelchair-bound Thomas was starved of oxygen at birth and suffers from severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and profound hearing loss. The family has been told it is unlikely he will live past the age of 29.

“We live with that prognosis daily and I just want to make his life as happy as I can,” said his mum, who works part-time while Thomas attends St Roses School in Stroud during term-time.

“Up until April this year he had been well but he caught an awful flu virus that was going round and he just hasn’t been himself since.

“We are having a few problems with him eating at the moment and as he gets older I am finding caring for him more difficult.”

The family is trying to raise £11,000 for an eye gaze communication system, similar to that which Sir Stephen Hawkins uses, which Thomas could use to play games and communicate his wishes.

Said Mrs Hennighan: “At the moment it is all guess work but with the computer he would be able to make a few decisions and have a little bit of independence by looking at pictures of a bed to tell me he wants to go to sleep for example.

“One of my biggest fears as he gets older is that he will not be stimulated and end up just sat in a corner doing nothing and thinking there is nothing he can do. With this he would be able to play games to occupy his mind.”

She also wants to raise £4,000 for a special day bed to perform daily physiotherapy on Thomas’ legs and arms rather than on the floor.

“He finds it uncomfortable to lie on the floor for very long and as I get older I am finding it harder to get him up and down,” said his mum.

“He uses both these pieces of equipment at school so I know they are good for him. Ideally I want to get them by December, the sooner we can help Thomas the better.”

Earlier this month (July) Chipping Sodbury Baptist Church, which Thomas and his mum attend every Sunday, held a fun day which raised £2,000 towards the target and members of the congregation are planning more events including a concert in September and a sponsored cycle ride.

To make a donate visit https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/thomas-parry or to help directly or suggest a fundraising event contact Heidi Hennighan through Facebook.