Moray family's £17k effort in memory of Callum
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A MORAY family’s golfing marathon in memory of a cherished teenager has raised a massive £17,000 for two charities.
Callum Tweedie died on January 30 last year, just 12 days after his 18th birthday, following a brave battle against cancer and other health problems.
His dad Alexander, uncles Gordon and Colin and his brother-in-law Scott Shearer, completed an exhausting 72 holes of golf in one day to raise money for the Crohn’s in Childhood Research Association (CICRA) and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research (LLR).
They completed rounds at Moray Old, Moray New, Garmouth and Callum’s home course of Rothes.
His mum, Jane, and sister, Kerri-Ann, provided meals and support to the weary golfers.
The quartet took 12 hours, 59 minutes, 32 seconds and 1,428 shots to cover the four courses. They started at 5.30am and played their final shots at 8.55pm.
"We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of family, friends, colleagues and people we have never met who sponsored the lads," said Mrs Tweedie.
"Funds are still coming in but we hope to have raised in excess of £17,000 for the two charities," she added.
That total included a donation from the Robertson Trust, the charity arm of Diageo, for whom Callum’s father Alexander works as production manager at The Macallan Distillery.
"What started out as a light hearted suggestion for a golf day out resulted in a tremendous fundraising day in memory of our son Callum," said Mrs Tweedie.
"The family are very grateful to everyone for their support and donations.
"We hear of how we must all tighten our belts in the current economic difficulties but the donations we received prove that people will still support good causes and we extend our heartfelt thanks for the generosity shown to our fundraising efforts."
In addition to the golf challenge, Colin, who is employed at Aberdeen College, nominated CICRA to receive the proceeds from the sale of a car, which had been part of a student project and this raised another £2.000.
Callum’s aunt, Linda Duguid, of Rothes, also recently held an afternoon tea event for friends and family and the £630 raised at that event will be donated to LLR, CICRA and The Archie Foundation.
Callum, a pupil at Speyside High School, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in August 2006, aged 14, and for the next few years he coped with numerous spells in Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and various medical investigations and treatments.
Unfortunately, his extreme weight loss and health problems meant he no longer had enough stamina to enjoy playing his beloved football but he was an avid fan and visited matches with his father, including Hearts games and a Manchester United game at Old Trafford.
Following emergency surgery in February 2008, things seemed to improve and he was able to play golf again at Rothes, where he was a junior member.
The family thought that Callum’s health had turned a corner and, although he continued to need medication, he was able to attend school regularly and was starting to gain enough confidence to embark on a normal teenage life.
However, his health started to deteriorate again in late March 2009 and in July that year Callum was diagnosed as having a very rare form of T-cell lymphoma, and further complications arose with kidney failure and swine flu, which meant he required dialysis and was placed in isolation.
For several weeks, his family were unable to visit him, and the only contact they had was by telephone and via Skype.
Despite this, Callum gained four good Higher passes in his exams.
Unfortunately the lymphoma failed to respond to treatments and on January 2, 2010, was re-admitted with a chest infection.
His health deteriorated rapidly and he was unable to leave hospital for his 18th birthday.
