Tayside man and son hope bridge walks will raise awareness on "horrible disease"

Kenny Mcdonald and his son Jacob are walking the Cromarty and Kessock bridges in memory of Vivienne who died from Pulmonary Fibrosis

Author: Liam RossPublished 12th Jun 2022

A father and his son are walking two Highland bridges today in memory of his wife who lost her life to a lung disease.

Kenny Mcdonald's wife Vivienne died from Pulmonary Fibrosis when she was just 32-years-old.

Despite health complications, she was able to give birth to Jacob, but she only lived to see him reach 18 months.

Kenny and Jacob, who's now six-years-old, are walking six Scottish bridges this year, with the Cromarty and Kessock bridge being ticked off today.

Lack of knowledge on disease is "astonishing"

Around 8,000 people in the UK die from Pulmonary Fibrosis each year

The lifespan for this is three to five years and there’s currently no cure for it.

Kenny's desperate to raise awareness about the disease and fundraise to support those who have it.

He said: "The amount of people that say, ‘Pulmonary Fibrosis, what’s that?’

"The lack of knowledge is astonishing.

"I didn’t even know what it was until Vivienne got it.

"I just want to get it out there, raise awareness and let people see what this is."

'"She'd be so proud"

Kenny is also hoping there can be more support for those who have lost a loved one to Pulmonary Fibrosis.

He added: "It affected me really badly. It still does.

"Seeing what my wife went through and I sometimes feel even after you lose your loved one there should be a bit more support.

"It’s a horrible disease. Her lungs were only at 34% capacity, she still amazingly managed to have Jacob. That was after nine miscarriages as well.

"Having Jacob , it was quite late on in her illness was an even bigger surprise and it was a massive worry.

"But for him to come along and do what she did is just amazing.

"She’d be so proud of Jacob for raising awareness."

Donations towards Jacob and Kenny's fundraiser can be made here

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