A kind-hearted knitter who suffers from severe, life-threatening allergies has made 140 knitted hats for newborn babies.
Cindy Courtney (59) from Stanley has been making the tiny bonnets despite suffering from anaphylaxis.
Even at home she wears a full respiratory mask in a bid to stay alive because she gets dangerously ill just by inhaling particles in the air.
She can’t eat meat or dairy products and sticks to organic foods.
Grass pollen, perfume, car exhaust fumes and new paint could bring on anaphylactic shock and potentially kill her.
“Everyday products most people don’t even think about bring on severe allergies. I could swell up and stop breathing. I get itchy, my whole body goes burgundy. I face these dangers every day. I need a mask to survive,” she explained.
Stanley Stores collected donations of wool for Cindy’s baby hat project. Wool came in from Spittalfield, Bankfoot, Aberfeldy and Dunkeld.
She finished an amazing 140 head coverings - 70 for girls and 70 for boys.
The tiny hats are going to help warm newborns at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital neonatal unit. It’s the third time she’s knitted for Ninewells.
Hand-knitting the hats was an enjoyable effort and a beneficial project to focus on for Cindy, who has been isolated more than ever because of the COVID pandemic.
Cindy battled to graduate from a degree in Community Arts at Glasgow in 2010.
She has used her artistic skills in the past, taking part in a Living With Allergies exhibition in 2013 staged in Stanley Village Hall and Perth ’s Lesser City Hall. Her art won her an award at the You and Your Community awards in Edinburgh but Cindy’s allergies were so severe that she couldn’t attend the awards ceremony in person.
Over the years since she has knitted items to help a huge range of charities and good causes including SCAA, Cats Protection and PADS.
