A Crieff woman has thanked volunteers for helping to keep her furniture group running as she fought life-threatening septic arthritis.
Tina McRorie, 56, has undergone three surgeries – with a fourth still planned – after contracting septic arthritis in her wrist.
She was given the diagnosis in 2023 due to a fall that left the joint broken and vulnerable to infection.
“The infection just continued and continued. It got so serious I had to get a third surgery,” Tina told The Courier.
“I spent six weeks in Ninewells, and it was just a downward spiral from then.
“I was in hospital for my daughter’s 21st.”
Crieff woman runs furniture group throughout illness thanks to volunteers
Despite her health struggles, Tina has continued to run a furniture donation group that supports people in need across Crieff – a service she has provided for more than a decade.
Strathearn Cares operated as a registered charity for one year, but Tina officially closed it due to her illness.
She now continues her mission on a one-to-one basis, relying on Facebook groups she manages to coordinate furniture pickups and donations.
“I started the furniture group from my house when I worked at the foodbank and have continued right throughout my illness,” she said.
“People come to me and they might’ve been in a fire, might’ve been in a flood and we help them.
“When I was in hospital, my family continued making sure people got everything they needed.”
She says that since her operations she has been left with limited movement in her wrist and is unable to lift anything.
Community support ‘meant the world to me’
Tina has leaned on friends, family and volunteers to help keep the service running.
She said: “If it wasn’t for the support and donations of furniture from the community, I wouldn’t have been able to continue – even on a one-on-one basis.
“It meant the world to me that everybody was so willing to help.
“Without the kindness of the community, I wouldn’t have been able to do this for so long.
“Even all the supportive messages that I’ve got – it’s lovely to think that people care.
“It’s all family that run my group, so I think people like the personal touch.
“When we got to deliver furniture, sometimes you get people who just want to talk to you for 10 minutes.”
Tina says she is hopeful her final surgery will be this year and is determined to keep helping people.
Elsewhere in Crieff, the owner of a 100-year-old fashion store explains why he is keen for it to stay offline.
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