Survivor will pen books for sick children

An Angus woman who was misdiagnosed with terminal cancer is putting her experiences with the illness to use in a series of children’s book focusing on medical issues.

Abbey Craig, a 44-yearold breast cancer survivor from Arbroath, has recently launched a new line of books designed to help children cope with the realities of illness and complex medical issues.

Abbey was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2015 and, after years of extensive treatment, doctors told her the cancer had spread to her chest and ribs.

She was given a terminal diagnosis and was told she only had a couple of years to live.

However, in December 2018 doctors revealed that Abbey’s terminal diagnosis was incorrect and that there was no secondary cancer.

The news inspired the creatively-minded survivor to help others dealing with chronic conditions and in the same year she founded Tick Tock, a music and drama workshop which educates children on complex medical conditions.

Now, Abbey has decided to flex her creative muscles in a new project – a series of children’s books about cancer and other medical issues.

She said: “I’ve always wanted to write kids’ books but I never thought that I had much to offer as an author, then this happened to me and I was thinking that it would be good to have something like this for kids in a similar position to me.

“I looked around but I couldn’t find anything that was ticking all the boxes.

“I wanted to write a book for children with complex health needs so I started talking to kids with these conditions.

“My misdiagnosis changed my whole way of thinking and I realised that something like this is really needed.”

Abbey has teamed up with her dad, Rikki, to create the books.

They plan to send them to children’s hospitals and hospices across Scotland.

The 71-year-old artist is a former teacher and has been putting his creative skills to the test by designing characters and settings.

Abbey added: “Dad has helped me a lot over the years so this has become a proper labour of love for us both.

“We get on really, really well and, even though we do disagree with each other, he’ll sometimes just smile and look at me while we’re working and give me a big hug and say ‘I’m glad you’re still here’.”

“This has become a proper labour of love for us

INSPIRED: Abbey Craig is writing a series of books for children with complex health needs.