A WIDOWER who aims to walk across all Scotland's major foot bridges with the "miracle" son born when his late wife was sick with pulmonary fibrosis says he will never forget the trauma of the disease.
Kenny McDonald, from Wellbank near Dundee, hopes to raise £5000 for the Pulmonary Disease Trust with five-year-old son Jacob in memory of Vivienne, who died aged just 32 in 2017.
It comes amid fears that the coronavirus pandemic will result in an increase in people being diagnosed with the fatal lung condition.
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Mr McDonald, 56, are crossing the 1.4 mile Tay Bridge first but also plan to complete the Forth, Skye, Erskine and Kessock bridges.
The former bus and coach driver married Vivienne in 2006, but the couple suffered nine miscarriages and in 2013 Vivienne was diagnosed with a rare inflammatory disorder, dermatomyositis, which caused scar tissue to build up in her lungs leading to pulmonary fibrosis.
The incurable condition claims more than 8000 lives a year in the UK. Life expectancy for patients ranges from three to five years but in many cases there is no known cause.
In 2016, doctors told Vivienne she did not have long to live, but three weeks later the couple received a shock visit at home from her GP.
"He sat on the bed next to Vivienne, held her hand, and said 'Vivienne, you're pregnant'," said Mr McDonald, who also has a grown-up son and daughter from his previous marriage.
"We couldn't believe it. All she wanted was to have a child and to do what she did was just beyond belief.
"What makes it such a miracle was that by this time she was on oxygen therapy, she had the dermatomyositis, she had fibromyalgia, she had polymyositis [an inflammatory muscle condition], she had oedema, arthritis, diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome which can reduce fertility], and she was down to just 30 per cent lung capacity, but she still managed to have Jacob. He was delivered by caesarean at 32 and a half weeks."
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Mr McDonald said his wife was "generous" with "a heart of gold".
She would take home-baking to staff during twice-weekly check-ups at Ninewells during her high-risk pregnancy, and give her midwives and consultants birthday gifts.
Her determination to be a mother stemmed from her own childhood which had resulted in her being fostered and then adopted after her biological father was sent to prison and her mother died from a brain haemorrhage when she was just seven.
She also lost her brother to suicide aged 16.
"Her upbringing had been sad and she just wanted to give the love that she felt she didn't get when she was young to Jacob," said Mr McDonald.
"I'd never have taken that wish away from her. I knew she was going to pass away but I would still have had part of Vivienne with me.
"And because I'm more hands on he's not just my son, he's my little pal. The bond we've got is absolutely amazing."
The family had 18 months together before Vivienne died in her sleep in November 2017, hours after watching a Bonfire Night fireworks display from her bedroom window with her husband and toddler son.
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"She got to see his first Christmas, his first birthday, she got to see him walking, she got hear him call her Mum which was amazing - she just burst into tears. It was probably the happiest we'd ever been."
Mr McDonald, who is now a full-time father, said the bereavement left him feeling suicidal but credits the support he received from organisations including the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust for helping him to survive.
The charity, for which he is now an ambassador, provides emotional and practical support such as wheelchairs and stairlifts to patients and their families.
Mr McDonald said: "I felt like after Vivienne died, there was no help. All the benefits were taken away. I had no money.
"The Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust were there for me, because I went from being a husband, to a carer, to a single Dad and a widower, and when Jacob started nursery that's when the loss really hit me and I took it really bad. I really struggled.
"When you see someone struggling to breathe and you've got no control over it, that's hard. It's like they're drowning.
"Even now, that'll never leave me no matter how much psychological support I get."
Details of Mr McDonald's fundraising campaign can be found on the Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust website, and on the Just Giving donations page.
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