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Families across Scotland are frightened and scared, but you can help them get the support they need to live life to the full again.
Zoe and Amy were terrified when their amazing mum, Catriona, had a heart attack out of the blue earlier this year. Thankfully she pulled through, but watching her struggle to recover was so difficult for the family.
Here, the girls explain how your donations changed everything and helped Catriona feel like herself again.
Please donate what you can to give the gift of hope to families like Catriona’s this Christmas. You can make sure people get the help and support they desperately need after a devastating diagnosis of a chest, heart or stroke condition.
Click the ‘Donate Now’ button to set up your monthly gift
But with the help of generous people like you, our family will appreciate this Christmas more than any other.
Earlier this year, out of the blue our amazing mum had a heart attack. It was so frightening.
It happened when she was at her allotment while my sister and I were at home. She usually goes on her own but by chance my dad went with her that day. It’s horrible to think what might’ve happened if he wasn’t there.
Dad came back to the house a few hours later. Mum wasn’t with him. There was a look on his face that we had never seen before. That’s when we knew something bad had happened to her.
“Mum’s been taken to hospital” are words that you never want to hear. It was such a shock. She seemed completely fine when she left.
That night, we wondered ‘What are we going to do if she doesn’t come back from hospital?” All we wanted was to be with her in hospital and give her a massive hug – but because of coronavirus we couldn’t. It was such a lonely and scary time for mum and the family.
When she finally came home, we were so happy to see her. But she didn’t seem like herself.
She was anxious and emotional. She told us her biggest fear was that she wouldn’t see us grow up.
Watching her struggle to recover was so difficult. Usually it was mum who looked after us. Now she needed help more than ever.
But that’s when mum met an incredible nurse from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland called Wendy – a nurse funded by you.
“We knew something bad had happened to her.” “It was so frightening.”
After a few phone calls with Wendy we noticed a huge change in our mum. She was a lot brighter. I think mum felt like she couldn’t get too upset in front of us. She didn’t want us to worry about her. Wendy was the person who gave our mum her confidence back.
You’ve made my family’s Christmas, but there are so many families out there who need your help right now.
They will be frightened and scared like we were – and you can help them to start living again.
The pandemic has hit Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland hard.They could lose almost half of their income at a time when demand for their life-line support has doubled.
“She is living her life to the full because of you.”
Without you, the support from nurses like Wendy wouldn’t exist. Without you, mum wouldn’t have got the help she needed to recover. Without you, Wendy would not be there to support her or all the other people who need help at this difficult time.
Mum survived because of the wonderful NHS but she is living her life to the full because of you.
So, this year we are going to appreciate Christmas whatever it looks like. Because all that matters is that mum is still here and we can celebrate as a family.
It means everything that mum is back to herself again after such a difficult time.
So please, if you are able, give what you can to help more people like my mum get the help and hope they need this Christmas.
You can be the difference between someone just surviving and really living this Christmas.
Thank you,
Zoe and Amy