As a super-fit runner, Davy Duncan had a long-held ambition to one day compete in a marathon.
That was before illness struck during the pandemic when doctors gave him just days to live.
Having survived that ordeal, he has endured a catalogue of other health issues including a series of strokes and seizures.
It has left Davy in a wheelchair, learning to walk and talk again.
Marathon will raise money for charity
But he and his wife Helen are in training for the Loch Ness Marathon in September using a specially-designed wheelchair.
They are raising funds for the Oxygen Works centre in Inverness where Davy attends twice a week from his home in Fort William.
The charity is facing unprecedented pressure on its budget with demand for its services at record levels.
The centre, which costs more than £270,000 a year to run, currently has a £60,000 deficit.
At the same time, the five staff have seen a 7% rise in new applications for help this year, with a waiting list stretching into autumn.
Last year more than 6,500 appointments were completed, including over 4,000 in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber which helps people with a range of conditions.
Given five days to live
For Davy and Helen, raising money in the marathon is a way of repaying the centre for the help they have received in recent years.
Prior to February 2021, Davy was an avid hill and trail runner, cyclist, wild swimmer and waterfall diver.
However, the saturation diver tested positive for Covid shortly after arriving in Mexico to work a day after his 59th birthday.
When his condition deteriorated, he was put in an induced coma and given just five days to live.
Despite a number of setbacks he pulled through. Two months later he was flown to Inverness and spent several months in intensive care.
Later, while Davy was in rehab, Helen made a 140-mile round trip daily to care for him.
After being transferred to hospital in Fort William, he started to have epilepsy seizures.
He was eventually discharged from hospital in March 2021. The following April the couple got married.
Another setback came on honeymoon when he suffered seizures and was again in a critical condition.
‘They are so supportive and encouraging’
Davy says he is keen take part in the Loch Ness event and to help raise money for the Oxygen Works.
“I had been running a lot before and wanted to do a marathon sometime. When this event came up it was a chance to do it.
“They are so good here (at the charity). They are so supportive and encouraging. It’s a chance for us to give something back.”
Helen, a previous ultra-marathon runner who set up the Fort William Park Run with Davy, added: “I have a passion for running but haven’t been able to do it for the last few years.
“It’s going to be amazing doing this together. When I did the ultras, Davy was always my support during races.
“When I mentioned doing this marathon he was up for it. It has given him a focus.
“It will be hard pushing, but I know he’ll be cracking the whip.”
She said the Oxygen Works has helped significantly with Davy’s recovery.
“We would be lost without them. Davy gets so much from coming here.
“They do so much for us and for others. It’s just so important, but being small it does not attract funding like a big organisation.”
The couple will also compete in memory of the late Angela Gillies, a schoolfriend of Helen’s with whom she was reunited while visiting the Oxygen Works.
A triumph over adversity
Jenni Donnelly, the centre’s general manager, said she is delighted Helen and Davy benefit from the centre’s therapies.
“It shows the need for services like ours in the Highlands.
“The fact they make the effort to travel here twice a week, even with the mobility issues Davy has because they feel the benefit, speaks volumes.
“We are delighted they come here and benefit from the services.”
Oxygen Works CEO Leigh-Ann Little added: “Helen and Davy’s story is a triumph over so much adversity. They are nothing short of inspirational and massively kind.
“I’ve never known a couple with so much generosity in any way they can give it.”
Leigh-Ann said fundraising from the marathon and the charity’s first Spring Swing event at the Kingsmills Hotel on June 7 are “financial lifelines”.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available for the event.
“Our donations are down by around 30% and we can’t just pass on the cost to the customer.
“So we have a heady mix at the moment of increased operating costs but have more people coming forward who cannot afford to donate towards the services their receive.”
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