Days before a Kirkmuirhill mum was due to walk down the aisle, her grieving family have launched a fundraising drive in a bid to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.
Carol Watson tragically lost her battle with the disease last October aged just 38 after a shock diagnosis in 2017 that “shattered” her loved ones.
Sadly, she was due to marry her partner of 22 years, George McKean, at the Radstone Hotel in Larkhall this Sunday with daughters Caitlin, 21, and 17-year-old Kacey by her side.
Her devastated parents Evans and Betty Watson told Lanarkshire Live with the wedding date being so close to Mother’s Day it has been a “sore time” for all the family.
Betty said: "Carol was a friendly, kind person who loved her family and enjoyed life. Her two girls were her world.
"She was so well thought of and in her job at the Kirkmuirhill Spar she was always known as the lassie with the lovely smile.
"We were absolutely shattered by Carol's diagnosis but staying positive kept her going, that was Carol.
"With it just being Mother's Day and the wedding date coming up it's been a hard time for us all, especially the girls. You just need to take one day at a time."
Now her beloved dad Evans Watson is using his computer graphics hobby to give back to the charity that cared for her and to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.
Through graphic design, the 70-year-old retired engineer recreates old black and white photographs of Lanarkshire then posts his eye-catching artwork to social media sites.
And his stunning pictures have proved so popular he decided to use his skills to raise vital funds for the Beatson Cancer Charity by launching a fundraising page in Carol's name.
Evans told Lanarkshire Live: "Carol was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in June 2017. She was passed on to The Beatson in Glasgow where she spent the next five years on various chemo and clinical trials.
"During this period she was still able to have a reasonable lifestyle, but six months before she passed we could see that her health was failing and she finally succumbed peacefully to this terrible disease in October 2022 with her family and close friends by her bedside.
"Thanks to all at the Beatson we got five years we might not have had if it was not for the treatment. It was at that point that I decided that Carol would not be forgotten.
"Computer graphics has always been a big hobby of mine and I noticed people saying I had some sort of talent for this, so I expanded by showing my work on other Facebook pages such as Strathaven, Lanark, Stirling and Edinburgh.
"I'm too old now to sell my work so I came up with the idea of creating a donation page in Carol's name on the Beatson charity site and if anyone was wanting a print of my work I would simply ask them to put a small donation into the tribute page and I would send the print via email.
"It has only been going a number of weeks and we already have £355 in donations so we will be keeping the page going to raise as much as we can."
To date Carol's family and friends have raised around £10,000 by taking part in the annual Off the Beatson Track sponsored walk for the charity following her diagnosis.
And they are determined to continue to raise awareness of ovarian cancer which is not detected in routine smear tests.
The only cancer a smear screens for is cervical cancer therefore it is especially important to recognise warning signs and learn what you can do to reduce your risk.
According to the NHS, the main symptoms of ovarian cancer include frequently (roughly 12 or more times a month) having a swollen tummy or feeling bloated; pain or tenderness in your tummy or the area between the hips (pelvis); no appetite or feeling full quickly after eating and an urgent need to urinate or needing to urinate more often.
Carol's mum Betty stressed the importance of early detection while praising the "outstanding" care she received at the Beatson.
"Raising awareness is what is most important to us", she said. "Some people aren't aware that ovarian cancer is not spotted with a smear test so we want to make people aware of the symptoms to hopefully stop another family going through this.
"Most people don't know the symptoms and sometimes it can be too late."
She added: "The help and support we've had from The Beatson has been absolutely outstanding."
To make a donation to the cause click here.
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