Grandmother, 80, takes on Europe’s fastest zipwire to aid life-saving hospital

An 80-year-old grandmother from Bushey has taken on Europe’s fastest zipwire, in her latest effort to raise money for hospitals which have saved her life in recent years.

Rhonda Davis took on the challenge in North Wales on Sunday 19 May, in aid of the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity’s Trust Research Programme into sudden onset cardiac arrest.

Following a double by-pass operation and having eight stents inserted over the last six years, her doctor told her she “now had a heart as strong as a twenty-five-year-old”, so she says, she decided to put it to the test.

In her latest exhilarating test, she took on the  2 Zip Wire at Penrhyn which is the fasted in Europe travelling up to 125 mph, and has so far raised £585 out of her £1,000 target.

This comes after she jumped out of a plane at 13,500 feet during a tandem skydive three years ago and abseiled 100 metres down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth last year, all in aid of the two hospitals which have treated her.

Rhonda said that overall her challenges, which even include an appearance on the TV show ‘The Chase’, totals around £10,000.

Speaking to Jewish News, she describes herself as a “Jewish old lady from Bushey” who has lived there, and in Stanmore and Edgware all her life.

Davis said: “What people should bear in mind, is that we’re all living longer and because we’re living longer, we’re going to have more health issues.

“It’s hospitals like Royal Brompton & Harefield which I know a lot of Jewish people are dependant. They are specialists in heart issues, and these are the things that affect older people more”.

Saying her family were part of what is now Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue, she urged the community to donate, saying: “Because I have coronary heart disease and have had a double bypass and 8 stints I’m a great believer in what you can do, not what you can’t do.

“Too many people concentrate on what they can’t do once they’ve had an illness. You’ve got get on with life and concentrate on what you can do, and not put negatives in front!”

You can donate to Rhonda’s fundraising appeal here:  https://www.rbhcharity.org/Fundraisers/my-craziest-challenge-2019