Singer says a musical thank you to the NHS
A singer-songwriter has enlisted some big names for a charity single thanking the NHS for caring for her son.
Elaine Lennon hopes to help fund Covid-friendly toys and games for the University Hospital Wishaw paediatric unit, which helped Chris, five, recover from a benign tumour last year.
The song, titled Uncharted Waters, features a host of big names from the Scottish music scene, including Karine Polwart, Boo Hewerdine, Findlay Napier and Siobhan Miller. She had found a lump on her son’s back that was causing him pain and discomfort. Doctors originally thought it was a cyst, but discovered it was a growing tumour and quickly referred him for surgery.
“Writing the song, I was pulling on emotions of how no one has the map that tells us what we should be doing next,” she said.
“I started thinking about last year when Chris was diagnosed with the tumour. It was exactly the same feeling, a sense of ‘what do we do now?’ As I was writing this song about Covid, that was the same emotion I was including, that feeling of being a bit all at sea but trying to find the positives.”
Elaine is hoping that the money raised from her song will help provide things like handheld consoles, TVs and toys that can be wiped down.
“They need things that can be taken to beds rather than having kids in a playroom,” she said. “Covid is horrible, but other treatments and illnesses are still going on too. This felt like a way we could help and actually make a difference.”
Uncharted Waters will be available on Friday from Bandcamp and elainelennon.com