SEVEN years ago, Bibo Keeley’s husband Brian was in a coma following a severe heart attack and multi-organ failure.
After several weeks of being kept alive by a bank of machines, he began to regain consciousness but was still critically ill and palliative care was introduced.
As doctors began to talk about switching off his life support machines, an emergency wedding was organised and the couple were married in an intensive care ward.
However Keeley refused to believe this would be the last thing they would ever do together and, against all the odds, her new husband’s condition started to improve on the wedding day.
He eventually became stable enough to be placed onto the urgent transplant list and, some weeks later, on November 2, 2013, and with just a few hours’ notice, he received a life-saving heart transplant.
As his condition throughout had been fragile, Keeley resolutely refused to tell him about her fears and instead wrote letters to him over what would eventually be a period of 101 days. She kept these to herself and concentrated on being positive and strong when she was with him.
Aberdeen-based Keeley is now going to revisit the letters to create an art work and has been granted a £2000 Maverick Award from the Tom McGrath Trust towards the project.
She intends to combine some of her words with images in a short film and her husband, a writer, artist and film-maker, will act as her collaborator and also contribute his unique insight to the written element of the project with extracts of his own memories of surviving 101 days without a pulse, and the subsequent experience of receiving a heart transplant.
Keeley said it had taken a long time to gain the courage to revisit the trauma at the heart of the project but she wanted to create something positive from the experience.
She added that she was honoured to be granted the award.
“This is particularly inspiring at this time because I have been co-shielding for nearly a year with my husband and fellow artist, who is in the highest at risk group,” she said.
“This award will allow me the opportunity to work on an exciting new project as lead artist, and I am looking forward to sharing this creative venture with Brian and theatre director Susan Worsfold.”
Keeley is one of the final recipients of a Tom McGrath Trust award as the trust is now winding up, due to the ill health of Ella Wildridge, McGrath’s partner and the driving force behind the trust.
Since it was set up to honour the life and legacy of McGrath, a poet, playwright, and creative maverick who died in 2009, it has supported 80 writers to create work to
celebrate his vibrant contribution to Scotland’s cultural life.
The other winner of a Maverick Award is Fife-based artist Ross MacKay who plans to create a large-scale participatory writing project with a series of poetic chain letters inspired by what he has learned about R numbers in the last year.
Edinburgh-based artist Angus Reid will receive a one-off Wild Award of £2000 to celebrate Wildridge’s unique contribution to the trust and Scotland’s creative community.
The award will support the next stages of Reid’s project, The History of Art in 100 Limericks.
THE trust has also decided to give an additional award to dramaturg Katherine Mendelsohn for a translation of a Moliere play that has never been staged in the UK.
“The awardees have been recognised for their applications that are most in keeping with the trust’s values and my dad and Ella’s love of inquiry, collaboration, and adventure,” said trustee Alice McGrath.
“Congratulations to them all and thanks to everyone who applied. Reading the applications has shown us again the wonderful talent and creativity that is alive in Scotland today and the lifeblood of all artists.”
She added that the trust was “hugely grateful” to Morven McLean from Original Editions who supported two of the awards.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here