{"id":740829,"date":"2026-02-04T02:37:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T02:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/740829\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T02:37:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T02:37:45","slug":"scotland-the-brave-meet-the-proud-scots-tackling-life-changing-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/740829\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland the Brave: Meet the proud Scots tackling life changing events"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a schoolboy\u2019s lifesaving 999 call to a young girl\u2019s fight for survival, these powerful stories show how compassion, bravery and selflessness define the true spirit of Scotland.\"dailyrecord\"<\/p>\n

20:00, 03 Feb 2026<\/p>\n

\"Brave<\/p>\n

Brave Christopher Chopping(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Scotland is known for being a proud nation<\/a> with a big heart – a place where compassion, courage and community spirit shine – even in the darkest moments.<\/p>\n

From quiet acts of bravery<\/a> carried out behind closed doors, to split-second decisions that change lives forever, Scots have repeatedly shown that heroism is often found in the most ordinary people.<\/p>\n

Each week, we’ll be bringing you the stories of three incredible people who have achieved amazing things, even when all the odds appeared to be were stacked against them.<\/p>\n

The schoolboy hero who saved his dad\u2019s life<\/p>\n

A young Scottish schoolboy proved that bravery knows no age when he calmly dialled 999 and helped save his father\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Christopher Chopping, nine, was getting ready for school when his dad Lee, 53, suddenly collapsed at their home in Penicuik and became unresponsive in August last year.<\/p>\n

The youngster quickly dialled 999 before running to get help from neighbours.<\/p>\n

\"Christopher<\/p>\n

Christopher with dad Lee(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

His fast actions saved his dad’s life, before he was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath, Christopher’s family spoke of their overwhelming pride and gratitude, hailing him as a true hero after he received a special award from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).<\/p>\n

\"Christopher,<\/p>\n

Christopher, 9, with dad Lee and wife Catriona and paramedics(Image: SAS)<\/p>\n

Lee underwent an instant Cardioversion<\/a> to restart his heart once he arrived at hospital.<\/p>\n

He added: “Undoubtedly, Christopher saved my life that day.<\/p>\n

“The paramedics said themselves if the phone call didn’t come through, I wouldn’t have survived<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Wee Ava and a lifetime of strength<\/p>\n

Ava Todd’s life as a 12-year-old has been shaped by battles most adults could barely imagine – yet she continues to face each day with a smile and remarkable resilience.<\/p>\n

She was diagnosed with inherited bone marrow failure<\/a> at just three-years-old. At the time, the brave youngster, from Lochgelly in Fife, relied on blood and platelet transfusions to stay alive while waiting for a donor.<\/p>\n

\"-\"<\/p>\n

(Image: UGC)<\/p>\n

After a global search for a match spearheaded by the Daily Record, Juleena Masters<\/a>, who lives in Oklahoma, became Ava\u2019s hero.<\/p>\n

Our appeal prompted more than 83,000<\/a> people to join the stem cell register before Juleena, 47, went on to become Ava’s match.<\/p>\n

Now, Ava is enjoying school and is able to live to the fullest and recently celebrated her ninth transplant anniversary.<\/p>\n

Her mum Maria told The Record: “It’s good to be at the other end of it now, to celebrate this milestone<\/a> and to see Ava enjoying life.”<\/p>\n

\"Ava<\/p>\n

Ava with her mum Marie and dad Sam(Image: Dave Johnston)<\/p>\n

Ava’s story has touched hearts across Scotland and across the world – highlighting the importance of organ donation.<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of people signed up with bone marrow charities Anthony Nolan and DKMS after her story was shared.<\/p>\n

Charities said the impact<\/a> of the response would save lives for decades to come.<\/p>\n

Mum who became a lifesaver after reading Ava\u2019s story<\/p>\n

Ava’s story of courage also sparked another extraordinary act of selflessness.<\/p>\n

After reading about Wee Ava\u2019s fight for life, Clare Montgomery from Bellshill made a decision that would go on to save a dad-of-three from Denmark’s life after she signed up to become a stem cell donor just as his hope was running out.<\/p>\n

Clare was at work in 2017 when she received a phone call to tell her she was a match for Rune Dinsen, 57, a father who was battling a rare type of lymphatic cancer at the time.<\/p>\n

\"Clare<\/p>\n

Clare Montgomery with Rune Dinsen(Image: DKMS)<\/p>\n

The transplant took place on Valentine’s Day the following year.<\/p>\n

The pair met for the first time in Glasgow in July 2025 and enjoyed a day out together, seven years on Claire’s live-saving act.<\/p>\n

\"Clare<\/p>\n

Clare donating her stem cells in 2018(Image: DKMS)<\/p>\n

Clare said: It was surreal to meet Rune. It felt really wonderful to see him happy and healthy, and most importantly being able to be there for his three kids.”<\/p>\n

She added: “If you’re healthy enough to donate<\/a>, please do it. It feels amazing to be able to help somebody this way and give them a second chance.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From a schoolboy\u2019s lifesaving 999 call to a young girl\u2019s fight for survival, these powerful stories show how…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5009],"tags":[81470,748,12450,389,918,4884,219340,11653,13841,857,712,9721,16,15],"class_list":["post-740829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scotland","tag-bellshill","tag-britain","tag-charity","tag-children","tag-glasgow","tag-great-britain","tag-lochgelly","tag-premium","tag-royal-infirmary-of-edinburgh","tag-schools","tag-scotland","tag-stem-cells","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116010041303026241","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}