Proud mum Linda Christie’s debut in the Great North Run will be both a tribute to her late son and a poignant thank-you.

With the race just two days away, 45-year-old Linda said it will allow her to celebrate the life of her 18-year-old son Josh Wilson, whose support for organ donation saved three lives after his death in a motorbike crash.

Linda’s run will also raise cash for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), whose response on the day of the accident two years ago gave Josh’s shell-shocked family precious time that allowed them to say goodbye.

Josh’s story is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking.

The teenager was fatally injured in a crash on the A595 near his home in Aspatria on September 25, 2014. GNAAS crew members were quickly on the scene and resuscitated the teenager before transferring him to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle.

But despite the efforts of medics his injuries were too severe and he died 24 hours later.

“We thought the world of Josh,” said Linda, of East Crescent, Aspatria. “He was very level-headed, and he had just been accepted to do an engineering course at Carlisle College.

“He was also a good musician, a self-taught drummer, and good on the keyboard.”

On the day of the accident, Linda was told about it in a phone call from police as she was returning from a trip to Scotland.

Because of the work of the GNAAS crew, she and the rest of Josh’s family – including his twin brother Daniel, 20, older brother Matthew, 22, and grandparents – were able to get to the hospital in Newcastle while he was still alive.

“Because of the severity of his injuries, there was nothing they could do,” said Linda.

A long-time supporter of organ donation, Linda said her sons had always known her views on the subject and just five weeks before the tragedy she had talked about it to Josh.

He had emphatically agreed that organ donation makes sense.

Linda said: “We were talking about it because Josh had just redone his driving licence because we’d changed address. He said that he didn’t want them to have his eyes but as for the rest of his organs they’d be no good to him once he was gone.


Josh Wilson “They finally stopped working on him four-and-a-half hours after the accident.

“I told the anaesthetist that Josh wanted to be an organ donor, and he was a young, fit lad. It was possible because they’d kept him alive, and put him on life support. I told them it was what Josh wanted.

“What the air ambulance crew and the doctors at Newcastle did gave us an extra 24 hours with Josh; a chance to say goodbye.”

Since Josh’s death, Linda has learned that his liver, kidneys and his pancreas helped save the lives of three transplant patients – a man in his 60s, a man in his 40s, and a woman in her 30s.

The two men – one of them a father with young children – have written to her to express their gratitude. Asked what her son’s organ donations meant to her, Linda said: “There’s a part of him that’s still out there.

“I am very, very proud of him. We’d always spoken openly about organ donation.

“And I support the air ambulance 100 per cent. They are brilliant. They don’t get any funding from the government yet they are a vital part of our emergency services in Cumbria.”

Linda has already supported GNAAS, raising £1,300 last year by bravely having her head shaved.

“I’d love to beat that figure this time,” said Linda, who has been training for her half-marathon run for about six weeks.

She has also given up smoking to boost her fitness.

Linda added: “I have no intention of breaking any records. It might take me four or five hours, but I’ll be satisfied as along as I cross the finishing line.”

To find out more about Linda’s fundraiser on Sunday, log on to: www.justgiving.com/Linda-Christie5 .

More than 50,000 runners are expected to take part on Sunday in the Great North Run – now the biggest half-marathon in the UK. Linda also plans to run to raise cash in October’s Cumbrian Run.