Oor Way o saying Thanks as words don’t seem enough

2013 is nearing an end and as I look back on our Kiltwalk year, one of the major achievements was the success of The Kiltwalk team proposition, which was launched this year and has been a huge success.

We’re not surprised at this, as the heart breaking reality is there will always be parents, family and friends who want to take part in The Kiltwalk and walk for a ‘team’.

For some it’s a sense of comfort because they’re walking in memory of a child they’ve lost, while for others, it’s a way of saying “thank you” as no matter how many times they’ve told the doctors, nurses, carers or charity workers who helped their child overcome illness, words just don’t seem enough.

One such team was the employees of Camper Hire Scotland, and in particular Nicki Blood, who formed Team CHS who received a Kiltwalk Grant of 50% of the money they raised, which was awarded to Yorkhill Children’s Charity, who were there for Nicki and her husband when their 7-year-old daughter Sophie, became seriously ill.

The original Blipfoto Journal we wrote can be seen at http://www.blipfoto.com/entry/3218354 and as much as I love the picture we used, my one regret was Sophie wasn’t in the photograph.

So you can imagine my delight when I spied today's Blipfoto picture, along with the story below, on the Yorkhill Children’s Charity Facebook page.

The picture shows Sophie, accompanied by her brother Sam, presenting a cheque for over a £1,000 to Yorkhill. Doesn’t she just look like the happiest girl standing next to that Xmas tree.

Here’s Yorkhill’s Facebook story.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to the team from Camper Hire Scotland who took part in this year’s Glasgow to Loch Lomond Kiltwalk. Nicki Blood, Susan Jamieson, Wendy Russell, James McCaig, Julie Alleyn and Shirley Lamont all braved the 26 mile walk in support of Yorkhill Children’s Charity. The team have raised over £2000 for the Kiltwalk with over £1000 of this being donated directly to Yorkhill Children’s Charity.

There is a very special reason that Team CHS took part in this year’s Kiltwalk in support of our charity.

This is a story about Nicki and Steven's 7 year old daughter Sophie, who was diagnosed with a Diaphragmatic Hernia and perforated bowel. It is a very rare and serious condition for anyone, never mind a child of her age. Sophie was rushed from Wishaw General to Yorkhill where Dr. Hajivassiliou diagnosed her condition and performed on her immediately, saving her life.

We are delighted to say Sophie is now a bright and happy girl, and Yorkhill remains a very special place for the Blood family. So when they came across the Kiltwalk, they realised they had found a fantastic way of raising money for Yorkhill Children's Charity.

And guess what? The team loved the Kiltwalk experience so much they've already organised a much larger team for this coming year. You can register your team for the Glasgow Kiltwalk 2014 NOW at www.thekiltwalk.co.uk”

I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s a wonderful story, as it’s a real example of what The Kiltwalk is all about, and what it let’s our Kiltwalkers achieve.

I’m also delighted to read that Team CHS will be rolling out Roxy again in 2014, as it just goes to prove what I always say and that is “Once a Kiltwalker, always a Kiltwalker” :-)