The 71-year-old former paratrooper is determined to continue life as normal and to recognise this positive attitude, his friends have made a DVD of him jumping, which they hope will inspire other people with a palliative diagnosis.
Last September 2013 Sonny was given six to 12 months to live.
The father of five, who lives in Exeter, said: “I have oesophageal cancer which has spread to the liver. I have to deal with knowing that this is terminal. I have regular chemotherapy sessions which make me feel nauseated and tired but I fight it and try to live a normal life.
“I have to deal with it and do something about it. I try to keep active and do what I did before, then I can go to bed and say that’s another day completed.”
He hopes the DVD will help other people realise they can still be active: “Go for a walk, visit friends do something to get out and about. Don’t get me wrong I get my moments when I feel really rotten, so I think about the weekend and going out with the boys skydiving.”
Watch Sonny in action in the YouTube video below:
‘I get a real buzz’
“They are a terrific bunch of guys. When I’m skydiving I get a real buzz, it’s exhilarating. No matter how many times I do it I always get the same feeling. There are days when I forget I’ve got cancer.”
When Sonny has recovered sufficiently from his chemotherapy he meets up with his friends at Dunkeswell Airfield, near Honiton, and drives the bus picking up skydivers from the drop zone. If he is well enough, he will do his own jump from 15,000 feet – which includes a minute of free-fall before he has to pull his parachute.
Sonny is aiming to achieve a level C skydiving licence – D is the top level: “I just need four more skydives to get that certificate,” he said. “Over the years I haven’t bothered with the licence but now I want to get it so I can jump in higher winds and do more manoeuvres.”
On leaving the Paras Sonny worked as a chef on North Sea oil rigs and then became a European truck driver before retiring last August 2013. Just a month later he was diagnosed with cancer:
“It was a shock at first then after a good cry I sat down and we talked it. I talked individually to all my children about it, we are all very open about it. My family treating me normally helps me be positive because I have to deal with the prognosis all the time.”
Sonny’s wife Sylvia said:”He wants to go on as normal as possible so that’s what we are giving him.”
Hospice support
Nurses from local charity Hospiscare have helped the couple deal with finances, paperwork and talking about his illness. “It is a great help. The nurses are wonderful,” said Sonny.
He is eager to help people understand terminal illness and took part in a recent Hospiscare discussion with medical students. Sonny was one of six patients talking openly about their prognosis and how they cope with it.
Jim Gilbert, Hospiscare medical director, added: “Sonny’s story is an inspiration, not least to us here at Hospiscare who are helping looking after him.
“He underlines several key messages, firstly he is an example of our wish to help people live until they die, secondly he shows how openness with friends and family can help in understanding adjusting to life limiting illness and thirdly in his work with medical students he reinforces our strong desire to pass on understanding and learning to the next generation of doctors and healthcare workers.”
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