The family of a young Cardenden mum have paid tribute after she died days after an operation.
Shirley Stewart, 38, mum of three-year-old Irvin, died unexpectedly at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Shirley, who had suffered from diabetes since the age of 10, had been admitted for a pancreas and kidney operation that the family initially thought was a success.
However, things took a dramatic turn for the worse when she suffered a cardiac arrest just hours after chatting to her mum on the phone saying all was well.
Husband Jamie said: “The operation went brilliantly and the recovery for the first week went well too. She was out of intensive care and into the ward. Then I got a call at 6am on the Thursday morning saying she’d had a cardiac arrest.”
The family were hoping the operation would change her life for the better after she had been waiting for a kidney transplant for the past few years.
Jamie continued: “The last three or four years of her life were really bad. The illness had taken such effect that she couldn’t go out.
“This was going to change her life for the better.”
It was a family that Shirley thought she would never have. Three years ago she gave birth to Irvin after believing her illness would prevent her from having children.
“When Irvin came along he was like a wee miracle. She doted on her son. She was a great person, so kind and she had a great personality. She loved socialising, dancing and doing things as a couple,” Jamie said.
Shirley was well known in Cardenden, having worked as an assistant in the pharmacy for 10 years.
Her parents Ann and George, and brothers Scott and Stuart, have been overwhelmed by the number of cards they have received and the amount of people leaving messages on Shirley’s Facebook page.
Shirley’s funeral service takes place on Tuesday at Kirkcaldy Crematorium.