A Dundee man has raised more than £3,600 for Maggie’s doing the Kiltwalk after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer months after giving birth to their first child.
Steve McNally, 52, completed a 29-mile Kiltwalk around the city over three days to raise money for the charity.
He called the fundraising a “deeply personal” experience, after Maggie’s helped his wife, Aneta, through her breast cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment.
Aneta, 41, was diagnosed eight months after giving birth to daughter Lily, now 18-months.
Maggie’s helped support Aneta by putting her in touch with other women who were going through similar situations.
They also helped the family through the decision-making process when it came to treatments.
Steve said: “Firstly, I know what Maggie’s do and have always admired that.
“But secondly, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in July last year and had a mastectomy and reconstruction in October.
“Maggie’s have been phenomenal at supporting Aneta, who still has nine months of treatment left.
“When Kiltwalk came up, my company McNally Recruitment, had become a charity partner with Maggie’s, which just means trying to help raise money without a target, whether it’s you personally or helping to do events.”
Charity
Maggie’s offers emotional support and practical advice to people diagnosed with cancer.
During the pandemic, work has continued by connecting people during their cancer journey, as well as offering support and advice to friends and family.
Maggie’s is fully funded through charity donations.
Steve and his family have been travelling around the world for work for the past 12 years, only coming home to Dundee last year after his mother suffered a stroke.
He said he had heard vaguely about Kiltwalk, but after returning, thought it would serve as the perfect opportunity to raise money for the charity that had helped his family so much.
He said: “Maggie’s had mentioned the Kiltwalk to me and seemed like a great idea.
“Although, I was a little bit sceptical on how much I would raise. I did the 50 mile challenge in January with Maggie’s, for Maggie’s, and friends and family were outrageously generous.
“My target was £250 and they all donated £1720. It blew me away to be honest.
“So when I set my target for £1000 for the Kiltwalk for Maggie’s, which I thought was a bit ambitious, considering I had just managed to raise money a few months before.
“But we managed £3,675, so they’ve all blown me away again.”
Family
Steve said that his wife and his 18-month-old daughter Lily helped him get through the three day walk.
Steve said: “My wife and Lily would come and join me about halfway through on each day and finish it with me.
“The first day I was in agony – absolute agony – after the first day.
“On the second day I got going and was fine for about halfway through then I really felt it.
“But on the Sunday, the last day, I could have run around the last leg. I was just so hyper it being the last day.
“The donations coming in were just phenomenal and mind blowing. I really didn’t expect that kind of response.
“I was almost accepting I wasn’t going to make the £1000 target when I first set it. So when it was going over it, I was just like wow this is just amazing.”
He added: “For my sins I’m also a Dundee United fan, so I was seeing the results coming through as I was walking through for the Scottish Cup quarter final, so that helped as well.
“My wife had promised me a dram of whisky at the end, so not only did she give me a dram, but then gave me hers too, which was Lagavulin. So I was very happy.
“It was great, I was glad I did it. It was a very personal journey.”