Alma's Story

Black Isle couple Maru and Kenny faced their worst fears when their usually healthy and fun-loving 12-year-old daughter Alma was diagnosed with a spinal tumour.

“She lost her appetite and wasn’t eating well,” recalled Maru. “After a few months of losing weight, she developed pains in her head and back and felt sick in the mornings. Our GP wasn’t overly concerned until one day she woke up vomiting and seeing double. That prompted emergency admission to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness where an MRI scan revealed a tumour on her spine. She would need an emergency operation to drain a build-up of fluid within her brain, caused by the tumour.

“It was a dreadful time – our world just fell apart. It’s so difficult to comprehend that your little girl is suffering so much and that her life was hanging in the balance and could be snatched away.”
Alma’s immediate hope for survival lay in life-saving surgery – an operation which had to be carried out by neurosurgeons in Glasgow, 170 miles away.

“A long road journey was out of the question,” said Maru. “She needed the speed of an air ambulance to give her the best chance – Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) gave her that chance.”

SCAA took less than an hour to fly Alma safely from Inverness to Glasgow and to life-saving surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

“SCAA was key to Alma’s survival,” said Maru. “She needed to be in Glasgow quickly and SCAA fulfilled that role.

“It was an emergency but to do it so smoothly and keep everyone calm to minimise the stress for Alma - and her dad who flew with her - was tremendous. The crew were absolutely fabulous.

“Alma was conscious, and they kept her cheery. She loved the flight and SCAA’s paramedics gave her a teddy which she named Jodi after one of the nurses at Raigmore.”

In Glasgow, Alma underwent surgery to successfully drain the excess fluid on her brain. Days later, she endured an eight-hour operation to remove the spinal tumour. Within two weeks however, fluid had gathered on Alma’s brain again and she faced the trauma of a third operation within three weeks to fit a permanent ‘shunt’.

“It was heart-breaking to see Alma in hospital dealing with operations when she should have been at school on her last month of Primary 7 enjoying life with her friends,” said Maru.

Alma’s teachers and classmates at Avoch Primary School staged a Zumbathon in April 2025 to raise money for SCAA, to acknowledge the role the air ambulance charity played in her survival.

“Alma missed out on her final days at primary school and her first year at secondary school,” explained Maru. “To see over 100 people - friends, teachers, and members of the local community - dancing in her name was very emotional.  It was a generous and wonderful thing to do and I will always cherish that moment as a very special one. We managed to raise £7,866 which was fantastic! A group of cyclist friends helped to raise more funds at a mountain biking event in June.”

Alma’s surgeries were followed by intensive chemotherapy, carried out at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. 

“The chemo was hard but has been really effective,” said Maru. “She faces a long and difficult road ahead but, thanks to SCAA, she has a second chance at life. We will never be able to thank the charity for what they have done for our family. They were life-savers when we needed them most. I can’t bear to think what would have happened to Alma without SCAA.”