Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Help Kirsty walk again’: Fundraising appeal after Kinross woman’s tumour removed in life-saving operation

Kirsty McCloskey fundraiser
Kirsty McCloksey.

Kirsty McCloskey was in the final year of her nursing degree in November 2019 when she began experiencing headaches, vomiting numbness and difficulty balancing.

Only two months later, the Kinross 20-year-old underwent an operation to remove a brain tumour the size of a satsuma – in an 11-hour procedure that saved her life.

The Kinross community has since pulled together in their efforts to help Kirsty to walk again unaided, with a fundraiser that has already raised over £11,500.

Rehabilitation

Kirsty now requires rehabilitation to recover her movement and coordination.

She is undergoing intensive physiotherapy which aims to help her walk again without help.

Her father Wilkie McCloskey said: “The money raised will enable the family to expand and enhance Kirsty’s rehabilitation and gives us extra choices for an extended period.

“The aim is to get Kirsty to the best place that we can and this certainly makes that more possible.

“Kirsty has worked so hard and her family have been very proactive seeking out expert help, so it would be a shame if her recovery was limited by lack of funding.”

Life threatening

When the tumour was found, Kirsty was rushed to Ninewells Hospital by ambulance, where a neurosurgeon informed her that the situation was life threatening.

He said she would be blind within a short period due to the build-up of cerebral fluid which had entered her optic nerves.

An emergency operation was carried out the following morning. The procedure was a success and up to 95% of the tumour was removed.

Community support

Wilkie says the local community has come out in support of Kirsty and thanked them for their generosity.

“The fundraiser is a lovely idea set up by amazing friends off their own backs,” he said.

“They are excellent cyclists and previously cycled from Land’s End to John O Groats in 9 days, so they set about planning this fundraiser around their talent and the beautiful place that we live on the edge of Loch Leven.

“There is a great community spirit in Kinross-shire and we as a family have been completely bowled over by the generosity and messages of encouragement that we have received.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone.”

He added: “The large donations from the close or well off to the small from hard up students, everyone has given so freely and they are all greatly appreciated.”