Brothers Mason (10) and Jonah (11) McKay from Amble, Northumberland fearlessly took on the Tyne Bridge zipwire over the August bank holiday to raise money for The Migraine Trust charity.

Mason has lived with migraine for a large part of his life and along with his brother braved the 230m zip wire adventure that zooms 30 metres above River Tyne to raise awareness of what it means to live with migraine.

Mason has suffered from migraines since the age of 5. These can be extremely debilitating and he’s missed out on doing things his friends all take for granted. His migraines trigger extremely prolonged seizures and he doesn’t stop fitting without medical intervention. So far he and his brother have raised over £380 to help others with similar conditions.

After the experience Mason said: “It was very scary waiting to jump off the bridge but very exciting too and I’m very happy we did it. I want more people to know what a migraine is and what it means to have one as lots of people think it is just a headache. When I have a migraine I feel really poorly, I get a really bad head, feel sick and often, am sick and I get numb fingers/hands. When I have a really bad migraine I have seizures and end up in hospital.”  “I miss out on lots of things because of my migraines and have to be careful as over-exertion is one of my triggers.” Jonah said: “It was a really fun thing to do and it is great that we raised so much money as well. “It’s horrible to see Mason when he’s poorly, especially when he’s been ventilated in hospital, it’s scary! Mason is very brave and never complains, especially when he has to take so many tablets a day to help prevent the migraines and seizures.”

The boys’ Mum Jody said: “I’m just so proud of the boys for taking on this challenge. The boys wanted to do some fundraising and give back to The Migraine Trust as they’ve been a great support to us. In addition to raising money it’s so important to spread awareness and understanding of migraine, as it’s so much more than the headache people think it is.” The impact migraine has had on our lives has been huge and little is understood about it. It’s terrifying to see your child being put in to an induced coma, numerous times, and all because of migraine. I was pretty ignorant to its severity before it affected our lives the way it has so feel it’s so important to make others aware.”

We are so grateful to Mason and Jonah for raising money for The Migraine Trust and taking on this incredibly brave challenge!

The brothers zooming above the River Tyne