When Linda Wood imagined her 75th birthday, she saw herself sitting at the edge of an airplane, more than 12,000 feet in the air, ready to jump. “I thought about skydiving quite a while ago,” said Wood. “I wanted to go on my 70th birthday but COVID-19 hit and that changed my plans.” On Sunday, the Kanata woman turned that that dream into a reality. But the leap wasn’t just about the thrill, it’s about something far more meaningful, fundraising for a cause near and dear to her heart. “I’ve been volunteering for Hospice Care Ottawa for about 12 years,” said Wood. “A lot of people just think of a residence where people go and that’s the end of their life and there’s more to hospice than just that. Hospice care is also caring for people that have life-limiting illness while they’re on their own.” So far, she’s raised more than $7,000 of her $7,500 goal for the organization, but she didn’t do it alone. Three of her granddaughters suited up and jumped with her, turning a personal milestone into a shared mission. “I think that when people hear you’re going to jump out of a plane they don’t think, like, ‘Oh, you’re going to go and do it with your grandma,’ but I’m really grateful that I get to do it with her,” said granddaughter, Anika Bosnell. Wood’s granddaughters say this skydive isn’t out of character for her. “It was only a couple of years ago she went to Africa and went and saw the animals. She’s always done like crazy things so it’s not that surprising,” said another granddaughter, Kianna Bosnell. Back on solid ground, Wood says it’s a birthday she’ll never forget. And she’s already thinking about how she’ll top it. “Anika has some ideas for that. She said, ‘Oh, grandma, I know what you can do on your 80th.’ She says we can go down a live volcano.” Wood says donations will be accepted for another week.
