An Angus man has died from pneumonia after initially thinking he had a cold.
Colin Paton (36) passed away after two weeks in Ninewells Hospital and his family are going through further heartache with his sister Hayley (39) battling cancer.
Their mother Marilyn Reid, who lives in Newtonmore, said her daughter would be too ill to travel for the funeral from her home in neighbouring Kingussie.
Marilyn, who used to be a playwright in Dundee under the name Marilyn Cameron, said Colin’s death came as a shock to the family.
“It turned out he had pneumonia in both lungs. He had never been ill before,” he said. “I’m still devastated about losing my son. Hayley has a disabled house in the village near me and she’s absolutely devastated and very, very ill.
“She got cancer when she was 28 and has done very, very well but she’s too ill to go to Colin’s funeral. She’s just devastated about Colin.”
Colin was discovered by a doctor after his mother and aunt became concerned when they hadn’t heard for him for a couple of days. He had gone to try to sleep off a fever he put down to a heavy cold.
Marilyn said, “He thought it was just a cold or the flu that was all. He was down at my sister’s and she said he should go home because he had a fever.
“I phoned her a few days later and she hadn’t seen him so got the doctor to go round. Colin was very ill and the doctor got an ambulance and sent him to Ninewells.
“He was on oxygen and antibiotics. They tried their best. As the doctor said to me, you can live without one lung but not without two and that’s what got him.”
Colin, who moved from Dundee to Arbroath to care for his sick aunt, was one of the people involved in opening the original Factory skate parks in Erskine Street and Nethergate in the late 80s and early 90s.
The group turned derelict buildings into popular venues by building ramps and other equipment. The Factory’s website praises Colin’s contribution to the work, particularly on the Nethergate site.
Marilyn said she thought Colin’s work with the Factory had turned into an enduring legacy for Dundee’s youth.
She added, “There are many, many people who still remember Colin through all that work. All the boys that were involved and came to my house were amazing and did things like designing all their own clothing.”
Colin, who was unemployed at the time of his death, attended Hayshead Primary School in Arbroath and Pitlochry High School.
As well as Marilyn and Hayley, his father, also Colin, his partner Tina, and his teenage sons Sean and Conner, survive him.