As she faced her final days living with cancer, Rose Croft of Kirriemuir, had one dying wish: that her family enjoy Christmas.
They gathered and did their best to enjoy the day, and five days later, Rose, 36, a physiotherapist, died, after living with the disease for seven years.
Her twin, Oswin, said her final wish was typical of his sister.
“She never once felt sorry for herself. Rather she was upset that others felt pain for her. She did not care for her own suffering, but the suffering of others,” he said.
Medical professional
Rose spent years working as a locum physio and then with children with physical and mental difficulties.
However, she found her true vocation when she and long-term partner, John, brought daughter Imogen into the world, just a year before Rose was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour.
Rose Isobel May Croft and twin, Oswin, were born in Perth in March 1986 to Richard, a nurse who later worked in market research, and Chris, a full-time mum with a job in the local school.
The family, including older brothers, Brendan and Athelstan, lived in Banff before moving to Kirriemuir when Rose was four.
Model pupil
Rose was educated at Northmuir Primary School and then Webster’s High School, where she excelled in all subjects and particularly enjoyed drama after getting a taste for acting while playing Tinkerbell in the local panto.
She was also an accomplished highland dancer who won numerous medals, competed at the World Championships in Canada, and qualified as a dance teacher.
As a teenager, Rose had a job at Kirriemuir’s famous Star Rock Shop, working with her friend Kirsty, whose mother, Geraldine, owned the business.
After leaving school, Rose studied physiotherapy at Glasgow Caledonian University and graduated in 2008.
She began work as a locum physio and carer at Sense Scotland before securing her first physiotherapy role in Glasgow in 2009.
‘Stability and happiness’
Rose then specialised in the physically disabled rehabilitation unit, helping patients recover from head traumas at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital.
After her cancer diagnosis in 2016, Rose gave up full-time work but continued part-time in physiotherapy through a private firm.
Rose underwent surgery and began receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy after the tumour was detected in April 2016.
Oswin said: “She enjoyed a number of years of stability and happiness but sadly, in late 2021 her cancer began growing again and she passed away in St Margaret of Scotland Hospice on December 30 2022.”
Dedication
Oswin said that one of the things Rose found hardest after her diagnosis was having to give up her job.
But by continuing to work part-time in the private sector, she was able to maintain the purpose that work gave her.
Throughout her life, Rose had a close circle of friends forged at school and then university and enjoyed many trips and adventures including Munro climbing, travelling in Asia, cycling and girls’ weekends away.
Oswin said: “When Rose was diagnosed with cancer, she didn’t write up a bucket list, she merely want to spend more time with her daughter, Imogen.
“She said that having newborn Imogen was like waking up each day on Christmas Day.
“She was a natural and provided support to friends during their early days of motherhood with her wise words and nurturing ways.”
Conversation