Christmas Appeal
“It was devastating. We are a small, close family. A huge part of our life was gone.”
In July 2020, the Potter family were shattered when wife and mum Theresa died very suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack.
Since then, Craig and his dad Dougie have been supporting Heart Research UK’s Heart of Scotland Appeal – raising awareness of heart disease and raising funds to support our work.
Christmas was (and still is) an important time for the family. The first Christmas without Theresa was incredibly difficult, but the family pulled together.
We need your help so that fewer families have Christmas without their loved ones.
Dougie’s story
“When I met, fell in love with, and married Theresa the importance of Christmas became clear to me. Theresa was thinking Christmas in January, wardrobes would have boxes in them from summertime, money would be put aside all year.”
“I was dreading the first Christmas without Theresa, and it was heavy on my mind almost as soon as she died in July. I know it was too much for me to think about sometimes and I blanked it out.”
“One of the hardest and most emotional moments for me was signing the Christmas cards. What do I write, do I sign it including Theresa, how can I leave her out? She had bought the cards in January, I signed it Dougie but that was tough. My family were staying with me so I didn’t spend Christmas alone. We survived, and because of Theresa’s legacy, the same family unity, the children’s unconditional energy, and the gift of giving, we had more laughter than I could have imagined. It was a major milestone for us. If we could pull together for Christmas we can pull together for anything.”
Craig’s story
“Christmas was always a special time of the year for my Mum. First and foremost, she loved spending time as a family, singing songs at the top of her voice, laughing, playing games and she loved buying presents for people (all at half price when she spoke to my dad haha).
She also loved trips to pantomimes with families from the communities she worked in, as well as helping out with deliveries from the food bank to the people who needed them. She was in her element.”
“Last Christmas was the first without my Mum and like every first, it was emotionally overwhelming. Everything just reminded us that she wasn’t there. In my head I had 2 missions – ‘I need to support my dad through this’ and ‘let’s try and make it as normal a Christmas as we can for the kids’. So while I tried to focus on those things rather than my own grieving and while I tried to tiptoe around my Dad’s emotions, I was fortunate my kids had a better mindset than me.
They wanted to talk about Gran! They asked questions, they wanted to see pictures and watch videos, they wanted to share stories. And so we did, we let our emotions pour out as we smiled, laughed and cried. As tough as that was, I’m so glad we did.
Mum was the last person you’d expect this to happen to. It is only through funding more research, more awareness, and more work in the community that we can help ensure fewer families suffer a loss like the one we’ve had.”
How Your Money Helps
Your donations are vital to ensuring that Heart Research UK can continue to take on heart disease. Your support funds:
- Research to improve diagnosis of heart disease and develop better treatments, with the aim of benefitting patients as soon as possible
- Community grants for grassroots projects aimed at preventing coronary heart disease in vulnerable people at higher risk
- Innovative and engaging education programmes which teach school children about the impact of healthy choices on their hearts
