THE son of a much-missed Greenock woman has taken on a gruelling challenge to support the charity which helped his mother during her final days.

Carole Anne Ross passed away on December 27, 2022, just seven weeks after she was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.

Now her son Craig Ross has completed a triathlon challenge to raise funds for Ardgowan Hospice, where Carole Anne spent the final weeks of her life.

The 39-year-old took part in the event at Rouken Glen in Giffnock last weekend on the day that would have been his parents’ 45th wedding anniversary. He raised a total of £2,275 for the  worthy cause.

He told the Telegraph he was fighting a cold the day of the race but he was determined to complete it in his mum's honour.

Carole Anne Ross  (Image: Craig Ross)

He said: “I’ve done half marathons, 10ks and a marathon before but a triathlon was new.

“I was loaded with the cold on the day and I was finding it hard to get my breathing sorted during the swim, but the thing that kept going through my head was that I was doing it in memory of my mum and was going to get through it no matter what. By hook or by crook.

“But the second thing that spurred me on was knowing that so many people had backed me, supported me, given me words of encouragement or had contributed financially and sponsored me.

“There was a large crowd of people at the gym during it to cheer me on and I had my wife and my kids there.”

(Image: Craig Ross)

Craig says that his mother received top class care during her stay in the hospice and that he and his father Iain were also well looked after by hospice staff.

He added: “She had been in the hospice from December 1 until 27, so around four weeks.

“My dad and I were full of admiration for the way they treated her, the respect and the dignity that they gave her towards the end of her life during palliative care.

“They were also incredibly kind and thoughtful to us, my dad and I were there everyday morning and night and they made it very much a home from home for my mum but also for us as well.

“They would look after us with cups of tea or food or things like that, I couldn’t commend the staff there highly enough, they were just incredible.”

(Image: Craig Ross)

While Carole Anne’s diagnosis came as a shock to her family, Craig says the hospice helped to make the difficult time easier for his family and he hoped he had paid tribute to their work by fundraising for them.

He said: “When the diagnosis came through we were all quite surprised and the reality was it was less than seven weeks from that diagnosis to her passing.

“It was a huge upheaval in everybody’s life and my mum’s in particular but having the hospice there gave us that nurturing and empathy that grounded us all and got us through that tough time.

“I think for me personally it’s been nice to have a bit of a focus on this for the past couple of months.

“That kind of first year after my mum’s passing was full of milestones, it’s the first birthday, it’s the first Christmas, it’s the first this, that and the next thing.

“I was keen after that first year had passed to remember her in a positive way and make some sort of contribution and pay back to the hospice, because she’s not able to.

“I wanted to say thank you and have an acknowledgement for the great care that they gave my mum.

“I wanted to have a focus and something positive just to remember her and have a legacy in her name."

He added: “This challenge was about my mum, but not just her, so many people in the Inverclyde area benefit from the hospice.”

Those who wish to donate to Craig's fundraiser should visit https://tinyurl.com/caroleannerossfundraiser.