We share George’s story, largely written in his own words, which follows the moment he found out that his six-week-old son had a heart condition, to witnessing the progression in science and finding a newfound sense of hope as a result.
“13 October 1980 was the happiest day of my life, as my wife, Jane, gave birth to our first son, Craig. We had been married for five years and we were looking forward to the family life ahead of us.
Craig was born with no complications and was a picture of health. But after six weeks, a murmur was detected in Craig’s heart. We were told this could be a hole in his heart. Although we were concerned, we found comfort in that people like Asa Hartford, who played with Manchester City at the time, lived with this condition and enjoyed a full and active life.
After a series of tests, it was found that Craig had been born with a single left ventricle in his heart, which meant that he needed to have a Pulmonary Artery Banding (PAB) procedure to make his heart work.
However, we were later informed that there was no treatment available to mend Craig’s heart and that we should consider taking him home to care for him. This news was given to us on the Friday and Craig died on the Sunday. It was 21 February 1982. He was just 16 months old.
We went from the happiest day of our lives to the darkest moment imaginable.
Soon after, the Minister at our local church asked me to join the local BHF committee in Kirkcaldy, which he was a member of. I later became Chairman as I felt so passionately about raising funds in Craig’s memory and found great social benefits from the group.
In my time as Chairman and volunteer, we’ve delivered a wide variety of fundraising events, from discos and masque balls to craft fayres, darts exhibitions and pub Olympics.
What motivates me is that at one of our fundraising events, a guest shared their story of his son who survived with the same condition that Craig died from. No words can describe how it made me feel to learn that after all these years, something could now be done, thanks to research carried out by the BHF.
We have two wonderful sons, Gary and Ross, who are married and have gifted us four beautiful grandchildren. We are a complete family and Craig will always be a part of our lives, as he has been since he was born.”