The American girlfriend of Scottish footballer Peter McAvoy has revealed her anguish over the death of her US college football hero boyfriend.
Megan Mercer, 21, who was Pete’s college sweetheart at New York’s Herkimer College, says her life changed forever after the US National Player of the Year died suddenly in his room in April.
The couple, who had been planning a trip to Pete’s home in Dundee in May, began dating last summer.
Now Megan says she is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from his family, and both the New York and Scottish communities that have been touched by the tragedy.
In recent weeks Pete’s family have launched a social media campaign called #4Pete in a bid to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
They also organised a charity football match in Dundee as well as an auction.
Megan tearfully recalled the moment she learned about Pete’s death and how his college friends have struggled to cope with their loss.
She said: “My family plans on making a blanket out of his T-shirts for his family. We want to do that for them for Christmas.”
While Pete swept Megan off her feet, he was also loved by her family.
She continued: “He made my mum very nervous because she thought I was just going to run off to Scotland with him for the rest of my life, but if you knew Pete you just loved him.”
Recalling the moment she found out about his death it is clear she has been very traumatised.
She said she believes that she was fortunate to have her family around her at the very trying time.
She added: “I was at home for a break with my family, it was the Saturday night before Easter Sunday and I had been talking to him all day. He had been watching the softball game and he had been enjoying time with his friends.
“I had a job interview at 5pm at a restaurant, so we were texting and I told him I was going to my interview and he said good luck and we said goodbye. I went to the interview and I text him to say that I had got the job and that I had booked the days off for our trip to Scotland but I didn’t hear back from him.
“At around 8.30pm or 9pm one of his room-mates who had also gone home for the weekend texted me to ask if I’d heard from Pete.
“He told me people were saying that he had been carried away from the college by stretcher and I wasn’t believing it and I didn’t know what was happening.”
She continued: “I called the hospital, but they wouldn’t give me any information because I was not the next of kin.
“Then one of the girls who lived in his building at Herkimer called and said one of the coaches had said that Pete passed away and I didn’t know what to believe.”
She said that coming to Scotland for Pete’s funeral helped her to cope with her loss.
“I went to Scotland for the funeral, instead of visiting Scotland with Pete on May 17th as we’d planned, I was very sad to have flown home for his funeral. We were supposed to buy my ticket the week he died.
“The funeral was so beautiful, I have no words to describe how wonderful all of the people there are and it was unbelievable.
“Despite their loss Pete’s family took so much time to show my father and I and Pete’s coach and his wife around.
“They were so kind, no matter what had just happened they got up and were so generous.”