An 87-year-old man jumped out of an airplane thousands of feet over Ohio on Saturday to help his sick 11-month-old great-grandson.

Clarence Turner of Warren County took the tandem skydive with an instructor near Waynesville to help raise money for medical bills for Julian Couch, who has been in the hospital since he was born, NBC station WLWT of Cincinnati reported.

The boy has a rare protein deficiency and underwent a lung transplant on Mother's Day. Turner said his great-grandson's medical bills have topped $1 million, WLWT reported. A fundraiser is planned for June 2.

A slideshow on WLWT’s website shows Turner suiting up for the jump, crouching in the aircraft, then jumping out with the instructor and freefalling before the chute is pulled and they glide in to earth.

But parachuting is nothing new for Turner: WLWT reported that he had made 16 jumps while in the Army during World War II and two more since then -- one in November.

Turner told WLWT that the boy's parents have struggled since his birth. While they spent time at the hospital with him over the past year, their house was burglarized and their car was stolen, he told WLWT.