Posted on June 30th 2022
The family of a young boy who had pulmonary hypertension have raised over £3000 for the PHA UK during an event to celebrate his life.
Rain failed to dampen spirits at the garden tea party held in memory of Keir MacGruer, who died in 2012 at the age of eight. The event in Inverness was held on 16th June, on the day he would have turned 18.
His mother Angela Cran said: “Life goes on for myself, Keir’s big brother Finn and their dad Lewis, and we do try to keep a smile on our faces as Keir would have wanted. We have a lot to be thankful for, yet at the same time we feel his absence every day.
“We wanted to do something positive to celebrate what would have been such a special day in Keir’s life. With a few days to go until Keir’s birthday, we decided in our typical last-minute-planning style, to organise a fundraising ‘high tea’ in our garden for as many family, friends and neighbours as we could fit.
“Despite ‘persistent rain’ in Inverness all afternoon, everyone enjoyed gathering in Keir’s memory. It was lovely to have so many people around us too, to honour the memory of our beautiful boy.”
The tea party featured yellow tablecloths, sunflowers, finger food, a raffle and a giant cake with one of Keir’s artworks – ‘Monster Goblin’ – printed on it.
The theme was Keep a smile on your face for Keir’s 18th, in recognition of his positive affirmations. This fundraising page was set up to encourage donations in his memory, and at the time of publishing, over £3,300 had been raised.
“Keir didn’t like you to be down”, said Angela. “‘Keep a smile on your face’ he would say, or ‘give us a smile!’ if you looked really fed up. If you cried in front of him, he would fetch the tissues, dab your eyes, and give you an enormous cuddle. He had such a strong spirit, and we were so lucky to have him in our lives.”
She added: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported us in Keir’s memory, including Auntie Kay who ran our kitchen cafe all day! We hope this money helps the PHA UK’s ongoing work to research this illness and support others with this insidious condition. Keir will always be loved and missed by us every day.”
