Mags is an inspiration
Gutsy gran helps charity
A gran- of- t wo who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer was bowled over af ter a fundraising drive by her local garage raised over £1000 for a charity dear to her heart.
Despite going through chemotherapy Mags McNeil-Devlin, 63, from Westwood, was told last June that the type of breast cancer she has is resistent to all three drugs available.
Now she has decided to make the most of the time she has left and help others.
And Mags recently joined forces with Spanners and Sparks to raise vital for Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust.
Its dedicated volunteer drivers transport patients across Lanarkshire to appointments free of charge.
Cancer treatments are split between Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride and Wishaw General.
Patients have to make their own way to either hospital when required, which may not always be their closest.
And it was one day when Mags’ husband, David, was unusually not able to take time off work to drop her off at a chemo session that she discovered the work of the charity.
M ag st old the News :“Usually my husband is very good at taking me to
hospital but one par t i cular t i me he si mply couldn’t get t he t i me off and was unable to take me for my chemo in Hairmyres.
“I thought OK, I will drive but I was all flustered, in a rush and nervous, trying to get parked and the nurse noticed I was wound up.
“When I told her I had driven she said you do realise you can’t drive home after chemo – you will be in no fit state.
“It was then I heard about Lanarkshire
Cancer Care drivers. Very few people know about them, which isn’t right.”
And she said they have been a Godsend ever since.
“They are absolutely fantastic. They pick you up, drop you off and wait with you before dropping you back home and making sure you are in the house OK,” said Mags.
“They also know exactly how you feel after chemo - they know you aren’t fit for anything, more than likely can’t or
don’t want to talk.
“So many people and their families rely on them – particularly older people – they really are a Godsend for people.”
And whil e at home Mags wanted to raise awareness of the charity and through a mutual friend, Spanners and Sparks heard of her mission to help the charity.
She continued: “The garage are fantastic and have been so helpful to me through my illness – making sure if the car needed something fixed, it got done.
“They regularly collect f or charity including fora kids’ out in gin the summer. But this year that hasn’ t happened because of COVID so they collected for my charity instead.
“I couldn’ t believe that with just a charity tin and a contribution from myself and my husband we raised £1105.
“We were absolutely delighted and I can’t thank them enough.”
Mags added: “It has been incredibly tough for me basically sitting at home since New Year. I was really ill before then and, in all honesty, no one thought I would make it.
“But I have been determined to get some campaigns going and as the chemotherapy makes its way out your body, your brain starts working the way it should again.
“I know there is nothing that can be done now so I have to make the most of whatever time I have got.”
Frank Roy, from Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted by t his donation, more so during these troubled times.
“This will help drivers get back on the road and we will use it for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
“We area local charity helping cancer patients across Lanarkshire, giving them free transport when they need to visit hospital for treatment and appointments.
“We have 12 drivers in East Kilbride and 110 in total but always welcome more volunteers.”
The charity has been running for 23 years and in the last year took patients to 14,430 appointments.
Its volunteers have driven 471,291 miles – further than the moon and back.