Charity climb in Darren’s memory
Friends and family to scale Tinto Hill
Friends of tragic Blantyre teen Darren Valentine are set to climb Tinto Hill in his memory this month.
Led by Darren’s best friend and cousin Sammi Wilson, the group will make the trek on Sunday, November 18, in aid of Lanarkshire charity the Les Hoey Dreammaker Foundation.
The charity supported former St John Ogilvie High School pupil Darren over a number of years while he battled sarcoma – a rare form of spinal cancer.
The 17-year-old passed away on Tuesday, September 4, this year, devastating everyone who knew him. The Celtic fan had been diagnosed in March of last year, having previously gone into remission after completing bouts of radiotherapy back in 2012.
The second time around, however, Darren was dealt the blow by doctors that he only had a few months to live and was prescribed chemotherapy to help prolong his life.
He battled in vain to beat the disease, trying many different remedies in a bid to to fight off the cancer.
And he also travelled to France earlier this year and bathed in the sacred waters of Lourdes and prayed at the Lourdes grotto for a miraculous healing.
Sammi explained: “I’m really looking forward to giving something back to Les and his team as they do a lot for kids with life-threatening illnesses and were amazing with Darren.
“Darren always wanted to climb Tinto and it was his friends who came up with the idea to do this in his memory.
“It will be amazing day.
“Thank you support.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Sammi’s Tinto Hill climb for the Les Hoey Dreammaker Foundation can do so by visiting https:// uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ darrenvalentine an emotional for but everyone’s