Kieran Westbrook, Dumfries Standard
FOR Jimmy and Netta and Harry and Elma Adams, celebrating their ruby wedding anniversary was a time to reflect on the vows they made in Crossmichael Church 40 years ago.
But a joint celebration for the couples is tinged with the sadness of knowing their niece is waiting by the phone for a life-saving operation as she battles cystic fibrosis.
So, instead of receiving presents, Jimmy and Netta Adams of Crossmichael and Harry and Elma Adams from Parton decided to host a fundraising party for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
The couples wed at Crossmichael 40 years ago after sisters Netta, 60, and Elma, 59, were engaged to cousins Jimmy, aged 64, and Harry, 62. It has been the only double wedding held in the church in living memory and the sisters’ father made the suggestion.
Netta said: “We go out together to mark every anniversary and hold a bigger family gathering for the milestones. We wanted to raise money for the charity instead of getting presents and asked for donations.
“We raised £750 ($1230) and wanted to thank everyone who gave donations.”
Their niece Nicola Anderson, 28, has battled cystic fibrosis since she was two weeks old. The genetic disorder, which clogs the lungs and digestive system, can lead to lung failure and liver disease. It is now taking its toll on Nicola, 28.
Her lung capacity has dropped to 20 per cent and she is in desperate need of a lung transplant. The mother-of-two is fed oxygen 24 hours a day through a tube and now uses a wheelchair. She is waiting for the call to be assessed for the transplant her life depends on.
Nicola told the News: “A lung transplant would change my life completely.
“I would be able to do things like take my children for walks to the park – basic things I would love to be able to do.”
Nicola, of Oakwell Crescent, Castle Douglas, was told in December she would be assessed for a lung transplant within six months. Since then she has been waiting by the phone for the call to say a suitable lung is available through a donor.
Her husband Bruce, 34, has been forced to cut back his working hours as a plumber as her illness has become progressively worse. Nicola has to see cystic fibrosis specialists in Glasgow every month.
Both Nicola and Bruce were at the ruby wedding celebration at Urr Valley Hotel, Castle Douglas, with their children Sam, aged one, and Lewis, aged seven.
For more information on the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the illness, visit the website www.cftrust.org.uk
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