The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Online funeral fund for ‘sweet angel’ Cally tops target within 24 hours
Brave youngster tragically died at the weekend
A funeral fund for tragic Angus youngster Cally Simpson broke through its £2,500 target within a day of being set up.
The brave Arbroath youngster passed away at the weekend, four and a half years after a fellow tourist pulled her unconscious from a swimming pool in the Spanish resort of Salou while her family were on holiday.
The four-year-old had been on her first foreign break when tragedy struck, leaving her in a coma and with lifechanging injuries which saw her confined to a wheelchair and requiring constant care.
Treated by specialists in Spain before being flown home to Scotland, Cally then spent months in hospital in Edinburgh and at Ninewells.
She defied experts who feared she may not survive by going on to attend nursery and Dundee’s Kingspark School, while being cared for by her mother, Kate Miller.
The family have been too upset to speak about the tragedy but a fundraising webpage set up by Ms Miller’s cousin, Rachel Cameron from Dundee, generated thousands, passing its goal in less than 24 hours.
A friend connected with the Glenlaw specialist facility at King’s Cross Hospital in Dundee, where Cally was a much-loved youngster, said: “Rest in peace sweet angel, your friends at Glenlaw will miss but never forget you.”
Another said: “Thoughts are with mum who selflessly cared for Cally.
“A huge loss in your life. Cally is free from pain now and flies high with the angels . RIP baby girl.”
Cally was on holiday with her father, Steven Simpson, when the devastating incident at the Villamarina resort in Spain happened in June 2014.
Mr Simpson and Ms Miller separated shortly after Cally was born.
As the little girl fought for survival he said they were “living every parent’s nightmare” in the desperate hope Cally would pull through. He said he was wracked by guilt and blamed himself for the accident.
A subsequent investigation led to the suspension of a lifeguard who was alleged to have been using his mobile phone at the time the fun-loving child slipped into five feet of water.
No action is believed to have been taken against the hotel, where family members had been staying.