A big-hearted group of colleagues pulled on their running shoes recently to raise cash for cancer research.
But it was a bittersweet moment for the team from West Dunbartonshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership after they lost a much-loved colleague to the illness.
The eight-strong team ran in memory of their friend Karina Thomson, who passed away earlier this year after a brave fight.
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Despite initially hoping Karina, from Dumbarton East, would be at the finish line to welcome them as they completed the Loch Lomond 10k, the team of workmates instead ran in her memory when she didn’t live to see their achievement.
But 65-year-old Karina’s family – including daughters Mhairi and Lindsay and son Nicholas, accompanied by her grandchildren and her devoted dog Josie – were instead on hand to welcome their mum’s colleagues across the finish line,
Karina, who worked as a rehab assistant with the group for more than 20 years, was part of a team who looked after the area’s elderly residents before suffering from stomach, lung and oesophogeal forms of cancer.
Senior occupational therapist Julie Ewing, who was part of the community older people’s team HSCP runners, said: “Karina was really lovely. She was a really nice kind person. She was going through a lot of treatment when we decided to do this and our plan was to meet her at the end but when she passed away we kept going to do it for her. We thought it was a fitting tribute.”
The team, based in Dumbarton’s Church Street, alongside two other collegues, put in hours of training together after long working days and their efforts paid off when they raised £1700 for charity.
Julie added: “Some of us couldn’t run at all when we started but the race was great and when we saw Karina’s family at the end, we were talking about her and remembering her and that was really lovely. She was a great colleague and a great person to work with.”
The team would like to thank their colleagues in Hardgate and Church Street officers for all their support.
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