A determined mother-of-two, who overcame brain cyst surgery, is to plunge 10,000 feet from an airplane to raise money for the hospital that helped save her life.

After years of suffering severe headaches and blackouts, Jan Curtis, 34, of Abbots Langley, was diagnosed with a colloid cyst of the third ventricle in 2007.

Mrs Curtis, who works at Pumpkin pre-school in the village, explained: “At one point I was just in constant pain – my head was aching all the time.

“Doctors tried me on different medications including heart tablets, but nothing seemed to be working.

“I was referred to Watford for a CT scan and then just two days later the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, where I was told I had a cyst on my brain.”

Colloid cysts of the third ventricle are rare and occur in the brain. They can cause headaches, vertigo, memory deficits and if left untreated can lead to sudden death.

Despite affecting up to three million people per year, their cause is currently unknown.

According to Mrs Curtis, doctors warned her that the intrusive surgery to remove the 3mm cyst could cause a stroke or epilepsy, just prior to the operation.

She said: “At the time, the seriousness of what was happening to me didn’t really sink in.

“After my diagnosis my first thought was, am I going to lose my hair. Then, just before theatre doctors started outlining exactly how dangerous the procedure was, what risks I was taking, it hit me.

“If my husband Carl had turned to me there and then and said, let’s go home, I would have. I could have put up with the headaches, I was just so scared.”

A week after her first operation, Mrs Curtis developed a CF leak [fluid that surrounds the brain], and had to undergo further surgery as doctors installed a titanium plate in her skull.

Since her ordeal, Mrs Curtis has made a full recovery, although she said when she initially left hospital, she found it hard to adjust, as her speech had slowed down.

Grateful for the help she received from the medical staff that treated her, she now plans to undertake a tandem skydive on Saturday, November 20, to raise as much money as possible for the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery Development Foundation.

She said: “The staff that treated me in London went above and beyond to help - they saved my life. I cannot thank them enough.

“I’ve talked to my doctor about whether it’s risky for me to do the jump and he said to me that ‘the world is my oyster’ - and he’s right, it is.”

To sponsor Jan Curtis visit: http://www.justgiving.com/Jan-Curtis