AN APPEAL in aid of Diabetes UK has been launched in West Fife in memory of a "ray of sunlight".

Darren McCourt, from Rosyth, has organised the fundraising to carry out the wishes of his friend Christopher Wilson who died last month aged just 42.

"Chris was a fun-loving character," he said.

"He was one of those people who thought of everyone before himself.

"He was very unique, he wore Hawaiian shirts and bright colours which made him stand out – he always lived life to the fullest."

The 39-year-old wanted to honour his friend, who had wanted to raise money for Diabetes UK by taking part in a skydive.

"Down the line Richard (Glen) and myself will probably jump out of a plane for the charity, for now we just want to make sure we are raising awareness.

"Diabetes can be such a serious illness, it can be a lot more complicated than people realise. There are 700 premature deaths a week as a result of it."

This is not the first time diabetes has hit the family, as almost 20 years ago, Christopher, who was originally from Inverkeithing, lost his brother, Kieron, at just 20 due to the condition.

"This is another tragic loss for the family," Darren continued.

"Chris is the eldest of four; himself, Kieron, Bruce, and the youngest, Vicki.

"He found out he had it in 2017 when he was out socialising with friends and fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital.

"He was quite wary and conscious about it, losing Kieron had been really hard on him.

"But he didn't want to let it ruin his life – he still lived life to the full."

Before his diagnosis, Christopher had already overcome multiple health challenges from birth, including operations for severe clefts of both his lip and palate, as well as surgery on his hip.

"Christopher took these operations in his stride and had been doing very well in college courses where he hoped to one day work in a kitchen as a chef," Darren added.

"Christopher had such a humorous outlook on life, always telling jokes to make others smile, he was the ray of sunlight when people were feeling down."

After growing worried for his friend on March 26, Darren had informed his sister that he had not heard from him in a few days.

"We would regularly check on him," Darren said. "He had moved to Bathgate with his then wife and son so we always made sure to check in that he was feeling OK.

"The day before Mother's Day, I hadn't heard from him and something felt off, I reached out to his family in case he was visiting one of them and had left his phone or charger – he was terrible for that!"

"We drove up and spent time with Vicki, it was comforting to reminisce and to be able to spend time with her."

Christopher died after suffering from Type 1 Diabetes, meaning he had to take daily insulin injections.

Darren said it was a big change to his lifestyle, as after diagnosis he needed to take regular readings, and set alarms to make sure he was keeping on top of his sugar levels.

Before the pandemic, he had been due to get a pump fitted which would regulate his blood sugar automatically, however this was delayed.

"It is one of those things," Darren said. "Maybe he would have still been here if he had something like that, but you just don't know.

"He would have just slipped away, he was comfortable at home and was probably watching a TV show or one of the old horror films which he loved."

You can donate here: https://gofund.me/58d32842