Kiltwalker is given a Mother’s Day surprise

The Sunday Post steps in to give Karen a helping hand.

Karen Young hasn’t had the easiest start to 2014 and so we decided she was the perfect candidate for a spot of Mother’s Day pampering.

Karen’s been living in Ronald McDonald House in Glasgow since January. Son Lewis, 7, who has both Asperger’s Syndrome and Tourette’s Syndrome, has been in Yorkhill Hospital’s Caledonia House while he receives treatment.

Karen, 41, has only been able to see Lewis for a couple of hours a day. And, while living in Glasgow, she received a letter to say she’d lost her job.

Karen’s best friend Lynn Reid nominated Karen for some Mother’s Day TLC through our Kiltwalk campaign, saying no-one deserved it more. We agreed. So we whisked her to Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries, where she received £500 to spend on whatever she fancied but not until after she’d had her hair and make-up done.

“I was so touched Lynn nominated me. To hear I’d won was unbelievable. I thought it was a joke,” she says. Ever the mum, the first shop she headed to was the Lego Store.

Karen admits it’s been a tough year. “Lewis’s conditions are very complex. It’s been heartbreaking to see,” she says. “But at the end of last week he got a four day pass home, so we’re heading back to the Isle of Bute for Mother’s Day. “We’ll be spending it with my mum and dad, who have been so supportive.”

Karen hopes her makeover is a sign of her luck changing. “I never win anything!” she says. “Just after I heard, hospital staff said they hoped Lewis would be discharged at the end of April.

“I felt so emotional. We’re really missing home so I’m hoping this is our luck changing.

“The whole day was fabulous. I think it will stay with me forever. Thank you.”