A man from Surrey who said going to Specsavers “saved his life” after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour has taken to the skies to raise awareness of the disease.
Mike Noto, 40, from Addlestone, took part in an eye watering 15,000ft skydive at Old Sarum Park Airfield in Salisbury on Friday (21st June) in aid of Brain Tumour Research.
The father of three, who owns an air conditioning company, swapped cool units for cool heights. He said: “The skydive was unreal. It was like the feeling you get on a rollercoaster multiplied by 10. A wild experience, I loved every part of it and wasn’t nervous at all. I’m already looking at another one and would love to do a solo jump in the future.”
Mike was diagnosed with a meningioma following a routine eye test at Specsavers in Addlestone in September 2022.
He was initially told bursts of debilitating pain in his head were migraines. However, an MRI scan left doctors in shock after revealing a mass the size of a tennis ball growing inside his skull.
Mike, who is married to Sarah and father to Grace, Oscar and Kit, said: “The doctors couldn’t understand how I was walking and talking as fine as I was, with the size of the mass they had seen growing on my brain. When I saw the scan image, the tumour was covering half the screen. Had it been left any longer it could have been fatal.”
The whole tumour was removed in a 10-hour operation and Mike is now being monitored with annual scans.
Mike added: “I’m incredibly grateful to the team at Specsavers and the NHS staff who looked after me in hospital. I feel fortunate that my brain tumour could be treated. I understand that other patients don’t always have this option.”
To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Mike’s Jump for Hope, please visit: www.justgiving.com/page/mike-noto-1718205511954
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