Aberdeen Mum Takes on Four Month Charity Challenge for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland 18 December 2024 For Alanna Marwick, the last two years have been the most difficult anyone could have imagined. She and her family have lost four much-loved family members to the lung condition, COPD, including her mum Denise Chisholm and her father-in-law Dave. But Alanna, 43, is determined to channel her grief into something positive, and she’s taken on the challenge of going sober in October and extending it until the end of dry January to raise vital funds and awareness for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, the charity that supports people living with COPD. So determined is Alanna to make a difference that she’s extended her challenge until the end of dry January, aiming to raise as much money as possible but also to raise greater awareness of COPD and its effects. Alanna, who lives in Aberdeen with husband Shaun, said: “We have a very large extended family, and this has been a very tough time for everyone. We especially really feel for all the kids losing their grandparents and great grandparents like this. “I also lost my gran, mum’s mum, in April, so it has been very tough. I was aware I wanted to do something positive to mark mum’s first anniversary on October 26. We were all aware of what COPD is, but I don’t think anyone of us knew the extent of what the condition can do to someone. As well as raising money for the work CHSS does, I really want people to know more about the condition, too.” Alanna runs a landscaping and property services business with her husband, Shaun, in Aberdeen, and is mum to Ethan, 24, and stepsons Leon, 28 and 24-year-old Liam. Shaun’s dad Dave was the first death the family had to deal with in June 2023, followed quickly by the loss of Fran Mullen, mum of her sister-in-law Dawn. Denise – known to generations of children at Buckie’s Cluny Primary School as Mrs Chiz – passed away in October last year. Then, in February 2024, Dawn also lost her dad, Dennis. The shock of four family deaths in quick succession, all from COPD, is still reverberating with the family. Alanna wanted to turn something negative into a positive, but even she couldn’t have imagined what might inspire her fundraising challenge. She said: “I tore my adductor muscle jumping into the splits at a wedding – in high heels! I am a qualified yoga teacher, so I can do the splits, but it was daft. Mum didn’t really drink, and she’d have been shaking her head at my antics. I’m still recovering. “I wanted to do something productive with my time while my muscle heals. I haven’t had a drink since that night, and I’m planning to push through without one until to the end of dry January. “I set a target for £500, but I’m past that now. I don’t have an end goal in mind, I just want to raise as much money as possible for CHSS and to raise awareness too about COPD. “As a family, we’ve lost four dearly loved ones in a very short period of time to this condition, and I’m not sure how much any of us knew of their struggle to manage their COPD. I’d really like people to know more about the condition.” Anne Magarin, Community, Events and Corporate Fundraiser for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, said: “We want to say thank you very much to Alanna and wish her all the best for the rest of her challenge. “It takes a lot of willpower and determination to take on a challenge like this for so long but it is for a very worthwhile cause. “The money raised will help CHSS to support the 1 in 5 people across the country who are living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and Long Covid to live their lives to the full.” You can help Alanna raise crucial funds for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland by donating here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/alanna-marwick-1727789937624 To find out more about fundraising for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland please go to www.chss.org.uk/supportus/fundraise-for-us/. If you’re living with the effects of a chest, heart or stroke condition or Long Covid and looking for advice and information, please contact Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland’s Advice Line on 0808 801 0899. You can also text NURSE to 66777 or email adviceline@chss.org.uk.