IS HOME FROM HOME FOR SICK KIDS
morning, then we would travel on the ferry, he would go for his radiotherapy, we would travel home at night and do the same the next day. Somewhere like this would have made a huge difference.” Four families have stayed in the Glasgow flat, which was designed by charity patron John Amabile. The Deans, from Culloden, near Inverness, faced spending Christmas shuttling up and down the country while Amy, six, was treated at The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Denise Dean said: “It was a daunting thought. So it was great having the flat so close to the hospital. As soon as we got used to driving around Glasgow, it was perfect.” he family settled into the flat and Amy, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia last August, felt like it was a real home away from home.
There are DVDs, games consoles and board games. Amy loved having her own bedroom and TV to watch films and play games on.
The flat meant that the family could spend the festive season together.
Amy’s big sister Rebecca, nine, had been visiting at weekends but was able to spend the holidays thre.
Denise added: “We spent Christmas in the flat and Rebecca came down for that. It gave us that family time and kept things as normal as possible for Amy.”
The flat and holiday cottages on Bute are funded by donations. One of the biggest fundraisers is the Glasgow Kiltwalk.
Last year, 350 walkers raised more than £100,000 for the charity.
Caroline said: “Glasgow is our biggest event but we’re hoping that because people are raising awareness and more people are using the flat, there will be a bigger emphasis on the Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh Kiltwalks, too.
“With less than three weeks to go before this year’s walk, we have more than 300 folk representing us. The Hunter Foundation are donating an extra 40 per cent of funds raised which is amazing.”
Every year, Caroline is stunned by the number of people willing to help the charity.
She said: “For us as a family, people wanting to walk for us is really humbling,
“They’re honouring Calum and their own children.
“We can only do what we do through everybody’s support. We only put the pieces of the jigsaw together. Every other person is a jigsaw part and that jigsaw is huge.”
Thanks to their efforts, it’s free for families to stay at the flat. The location in Minerva Street was chosen because it’s a short drive from The Royal Hospital for Children and two train stops from the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre.
Caroline added: “The area is great because there’s support from hotels, shops, even the sandwich van at the bottom on the road. It has formed a community. We’re really happy with it.
“Hopefully there’s everything in the flat a family would need. All they should have to concentrate on is their child and not worry about anything else.”
The Glasgow Kiltwalk is on April 29 with events in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh later in the year. Find out more at thekiltwalk. co.uk.
CAROLINE SPIERS ON CHARITY’S GLASGOW FLAT FOR FAMILIES OF SICK KIDS