A big thank you to Rutherglen & Cambuslang Housing Association who held a charity fundraising day to raise money for Epilepsy Scotland in memory of their well-loved colleague Graeme Hart.
Graeme sadly passed away due to Sudden Unexplained Death In Epilepsy (SUDEP) in April 2023 and was a well-loved figure in the community.
Rutherglen & Cambuslang Housing Association has raised £2,601.87, which we are incredibly grateful for.
The money raised will help people living with epilepsy in Scotland and make a difference in improving people’s wellbeing.
Memories of Graeme
Graeme’s mother Irene said: “Graeme was a great young man but I have to say that as I’m his mum, we were always a very close family going to music concerts together.
He was very close to his sister Carolann they did a lot of things together concerts, cinema etc.
Graeme was a Star Wars fan. There would be not a lot that he couldn’t tell us about Star Wars.
Graeme was a quiet guy until you got to know him then he would talk non-stop. He had a small group of friends, his best friend, Ryan, he had known since mother and toddler group aged two.
He had a few other hobbies he occasionally went fishing with his dad they were best pals, they did clay pigeon shooting and had learned to scuba dive together but he had to give them up when he was diagnosed.
I think the not driving hit him the hardest. He liked driving and obviously, needed this for his work. I think he always worried that he would have to give up his work which was not even hinted at.
He was delighted when he got his apprenticeship having sent away hundreds of applications and enjoyed his work very much. This was a part of his life we weren’t part of, although he always had very amusing stories to tell about toilets, Graeme loved a laugh.
Graeme didn’t let his epilepsy get to him. Graeme’s work have been amazing. His boss Craig treated Graeme like a family member and had done work for Craig’s family and friends. The housing association are a great group of people and Graeme always said lovely things about them.
But it wasn’t until he died that we got to know them. They all had very funny stories to share with us and it was a comfort to know how much he mattered, it made us so proud.
The fundraiser they organised was amazing they put so much work and effort into it, especially Donna, Heather and Mandy, we will always be very grateful to them. My family and friends also put in donations into the day.
Keeping Graeme’s memory alive
We keep Graeme’s memory alive by talking about him daily and that will always continue, we will keep in touch with Craig and the people in the housing.
Graeme’s funeral was geared around him, his likes and his hobbies. We had Darth Vader and two storm troopers escorting Graeme to the Star Wars theme tune.
The music we selected was by his favourite heavy metal band AC/DC thunderstruck and for the curtain closing it was highway to hell which Graeme always said that would be his funeral song as a joke who knew it would happen.
One of the ladies who go to the choir I’m in said she didn’t know my son but by the end of the funeral she knew exactly who Graeme was and that meant so much to us.
I hope people will remember Graeme and talk about him often with a smile. I would love to help in any future fundraiser for this worthwhile cause and also raise awareness of epilepsy.”
Thank you to Irene for sharing her memories of Graeme and everyone at Epilepsy Scotland passes on their condolences to Graeme’s family and friends.
For more information about SUDEP, please go to www.sudep.org
If you have lost a loved one to SUDEP and need to talk to someone, please call our freephone Helpline on 0808 800 2200 or email contact@epilepsyscotland.org.uk