A beloved Lanarkshire dad who died suddenly from a heart attack will be remembered with a defibrillator installed in his hometown.
Robert Watt passed away two days before Christmas leaving his loving family devastated.
But a campaign to honour the 81-year-old will be a fitting tribute to his kind and “truly unique” character, his family told Lanarkshire Live.
Son Barry Watt was at his dad's home in Blantyre when he died and administered CPR on him before paramedics arrived.
With Robert being a Type 1 diabetic, Barry initially thought it was a problem with his blood sugar before making the emergency call.
He and wife Joanne frantically tried to get a defibrillator within the complex at Trust Housing Associations but there wasn't one on site.
Now, in an effort to leave a caring legacy for his dad, 46-year-old Barry is raising money to have a life-saving defib installed in the local area to help prevent future tragedies.
Barry said: “The only issue my dad had was his diabetes and his blood sugar being up and down, and on the day we thought that’s what it was.
“I got him his breakfast and said I’d be back later on but when I came back he wasn’t good at all. I had asked him if he was alright and he shook his head and it wasn’t long after that he passed away.
“Myself and my wife worked on him for about five or six minutes before the paramedics came.
“Happening on the 23rd hit us hard because we had plans for Christmas. We were going to have him down at our house.
“We tried to get the manager when it happened to see if they had a defib in the building but they didn’t have one which was surprising because there’s 60 flats in there.
“The nearest one for us was at Premier Mo’s which would have taken us possibly 10 minutes to get down there and back which was just too long.
“Where they stay there doesn’t seem to be one nearby so the idea is to have something that is a legacy for my dad that might help somebody else.
“It was very sudden and quick. I tried working on him to give him a chance but there was nothing that could’ve been done when the paramedics got there."
Robert is remembered fondly as a kind-hearted family man with a fantastic sense of humour.
Even when times got hard for himself, particularly when he had to have one of his legs amputated due to his diabetes, the loving father and grandfather was still cracking jokes and making others laugh.
Only a week before his death, Barry took him on a family overnight stay in Blackpool which Robert loved.
He shared a special bond with his grandson, Lewis Watt, nine, who even joined him to go up the Blackpool tower.
Barry laughed as he recalled his dad's quick wit, even when he was in hospital and Lewis came to see him.
He explained: “My dad had a really quick sense of humour. He could be the quietest man in the room and then hit out with a one-liner at the end of someone else’s conversation and have everyone in stitches.
“For someone that had such a tough time, especially more recently, he never lost his sense of humour.
“When he first got his leg amputated, my boy Lewis took him up a pirate patch and a blow-up pirate to the hospital and my dad put them on and posed for a picture. He would always lighten the room.
“Those were the sort of things that would make him truly unique.”
And speaking of his passing, Barry added: “I’ve never lost anybody that close before, so to do so in such traumatic circumstances was very difficult.
“He was a big family man. He doted on the kids. I was breaking my heart crying when I had to tell my son Lewis what happened."
Prior to Robert's funeral, his family asked friends and family to donate to their online fundraising page to have a defibrillator installed in Blantyre, near to the Blantyre Miners Welfare Social Club, instead of paying for flowers.
So far, the campaign has raised £770 out of a target of £2500 as locals are asked to contribute to the worthy cause.
Barry said: “We thought it should go to something that would benefit other people, and they can take comfort from knowing whatever they do is a lasting legacy for my dad.
“After what my dad had been through I think he would be keen to know that the family are helping other people. I think he’d be super proud of that."
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
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