A widow abseiled down Dundee University tower on what would have been her second wedding anniversary.
For Darlene Connor (44) the thrill of propelling herself off the 140ft tower was a bittersweet moment.
Her husband Larry died of pancreatic cancer just days after they were married in Ninewells Hospital on August 27, 2009.
The couple had planned to tie the knot on September 19 that year but, with the hotel booked and all the plans laid, doctors advised them to bring the date forward. Larry was gravely ill and doctors were concerned that he would not survive until the wedding.
Darlene made plans to marry in the Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre, but Larry was too ill to leave his hospital bed. With just 24 hours’ notice, staff at the Maggie’s Centre organised a wedding buffet and held a reception for the guests at Larry’s bedside.
Three weeks after the wedding, Larry died in Roxburghe House.
Darlene is grateful for the support Maggie’s gave her husband during his illness and was the first to sign up for the charity abseil on Saturday.
She made the descent last year for the same charity on May 22, on what would have been Larry’s 50th birthday.
That too was a bittersweet occasion given the memories and symbolism of the day, and as a first descent it was also very scary.
A total of 56 abseilers raised more than £10,000 for Maggie’s Dundee.
The numbers descending were fewer than in previous years, but as the economic climate bites and charities find it more difficult to persuade people to part with their cash, Maggie’s Dundee fundraiser Tracey Curry said the abseilers’ effort was “phenomenal”.
Mrs Connor, who raised £364 through her effort, said: “I was not as scared as I was last year.”
She was accompanied by colleagues from her work at Armitstead Child Development Centre in Dundee.
“It was an adrenalin rush,” she said. “There was a girl went down ahead of me who was absolutely petrified. I was like that last year but I was not so scared this time.”
It costs about £400,000 a year to run the Maggie’s Centre money raised entirely through voluntary donations. The centre is not supported through the mainstream NHS budget.