A Stirling family will take on a gruelling fundraiser to thank the “angels” who cared for their dad and husband in his final moments.
Much-loved dad-of-three Mark Stephen, from Cowie, died aged just 58 after a battle with a glioblastoma brain tumour.
His wife Marie and three children, Emily, Molly and Callum, were left devastated by his loss.
But they remain determined to leave a lasting legacy to him, raising money for Strathcarron Hospice and campaigning for a cure.
Now the intrepid family are preparing to take on a 10-day pedalling effort across Vietnam and Cambodia in November.
Marie told the Observer: “I will continue to do all that I can to promote awareness and plead for more funds to be provided to help find a cure for this disease.
“Mark spent the last three months of his life in Strathcarron Hospice. I have so much admiration for the compassion, care and kindness Mark received, it truly is a place run by angels.
“We couldn’t have given Mark what Strathcarron gave him in those final few months.
“I saw him laugh more in those last three months because of the care they offered him and so the fundraising since then has been a way of giving back and to thank them for all they did.”
She added: “Vietnam was on Mark’s personal bucket list to travel to and so, for me, going there will be a bit of a double milestone; I’m doing it to raise the money for Strathcarron but it’s also a personal milestone given that he always wanted to go there.
“He will see Vietnam through my eyes.”
After Mark was diagnosed with a brain tumour in March 2017, the family organised a number of fundraisers - including band nights and a special evening at the Dunblane Hydro - as they sought to raise awareness of his condition and vital charity funds.
Mark went to Strathcarron Hospice for respite care in April 2019 when his condition worsened and he passed away in July 2019.
Since that point, Mark’s family have been determined to repay the hospice, based near Denny, for their care.
In total, their support for brain tumour research and Strathcarron has seen them raise more than £28,000 to this point - with plans to keep up the momentum over the coming months.
The cycle trip will see Marie joined by her son Callum, as well as brother-in-law Peter and niece Katelyn and forms the latest major effort planned by the family over the years in the name of raising money for important causes.
Marie’s daughter Emily has also pounded the pavements in the London Marathon in the past and saw a planned excursion to take on Mount Kilimanjaro put on hold and eventually cancelled due to Covid.
However, while the Vietnam trip looms, the fundraising for Strathcarron has been continuing with events closer to home, with a bag pack at Tesco Stirling over the weekend of February 26 and 27 raising £1,282 for the hospice.
For the pack, Marie was joined by her close friend Jacquie, as well as Emily’s school friend Caitlin Brown and her eight-year-old daughter Sophia McDonald.
Marie added: “It was just us standing with some buckets at the door but people were really generous and actually Sophia asked if she could do it every weekend after she was finished!
“I know that a lot of people don’t carry cash these days, but it was an absolutely amazing response and I couldn’t believe how much we raised in two days.
“We just had loads of people giving us their stories of loved ones who had a connection with Strathcarron.”
Sophia’s mum Caitlin, from St Ninians, said: “I saw that Marie was looking for volunteers and I was really happy to help because I’ve been friends with her daughter since high school and knew Mark pretty well and actually visited him in Strathcarron.
“He was a big character and we got on well, so it was a really sad time when he passed away.
“I asked if Sophia could be involved and she really enjoyed it; she did a wee victory dance every time she emptied one of the boxes of snowdrops we were giving out.”
To donate to the fundraiser visit https://www.strathcarronhospice.net/fundraisers/-for-mark-thank-you-to-the-angels-of-strathcarron-hospice
