Andrew puts smiles on the faces of little Molly Paterson and her dad Sandy. 

Sadness
It was a visit tinged with sadness, because Andrew is no stranger to the hospital and admits going back was an emotional trip for him.
“My wife and I spent more than three years of our lives at Yorkhill,” says Andrew, who is a film-maker, special-effects artist, artist and sculptor whose company Saamdesign runs film-making workshops in schools.
“Our son, Joseph, was born there in 2002. He was a month premature and a section birth. While he was in the womb a congenital diaphragmatic hernia was diagnosed. 
“That meant he was born without a diaphragm and his main organs were pushing against his heart and lungs. 
He had his first op when he was three days old and a patch was put in to take the place of the diaphragm.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, months later Joseph was diagnosed with the rare Denys Drash Syndrome which, among other things, causes the kidneys to fail.
“Joseph was on dialysis every second day,” recalls Andrew, who is originally from Glasgow but lives in Kilmarnock. 
Short life
“During Joseph’s short life he was always happy and smiling no matter what was happening to him medically and whatever he was going through.”
With another son, Saam, to look after, Andrew and his wife lived in the hospital’s Ronald McDonald House so they could be near Joseph.
“It was a tough time for all of us,” Andrew recalls. 
“Our lives revolved around taking Saam back and forward to nursery and one of us trying to be there for Joseph.”
This put a tremendous strain on Andrew and Karen’s marriage and when Joseph died in August 2005 the couple split up.
“I knew many families who lost children and got to know them well,” says Andrew. “Yorkhill isn’t a sad place. 
The staff make sure of that. You fully appreciate what the consultants, nurses and staff are doing when you spend so much time in a hospital.”
During his time at Yorkhill Andrew became a well-known face and used his art skills to the full.
“I noticed the lifts taking the children to theatre were the worse for wear with flaking paint, so I asked if I could paint something interesting that would take the children’s minds off where they were going.
Rainbows
“I painted the insides of six lifts with rainbows, white picket fences, rolling clouds and field mice, ladybirds and things like that. I didn’t sleep much so the painting whiled away the hours.”
It’s less than a year since Andrew took on the Captain Jack persona. Last Hallowe’en he was invited to a fancy-dress party and decided to go as a pirate.
Friends said he looked a lot like Johnny Depp and that got him thinking. He looked at pictures of Johnny, studied his pirate costume and tried to match it in every way.
Andrew has even grown his thick, black hair the same length and now makes public appearances in the full regalia — complete with Captain Jack’s swagger.
He’s been recognised by Disney’s official Pirates Of The Caribbean website as the UK’s fourth most realistic Jack Sparrow.
He says, “I spotted a gap in the market that there was no-one in Scotland doing a Captain Jack lookalike.
Dreadlocks
“I’d like to get the costume exactly the same as the real thing and a set of proper dreadlocks. The kids like to see me as Jack and start screaming — he’s a great character to play. Hen nights can also be a load of fun.”
Andrew’s visit to Yorkhill proved his point. Among several youngsters he chatted to was four-year-old Molly Paterson from Cambuslang, being treated for a hole in the heart.
Her dad Sandy was with her and said, “It was so exciting for Molly to meet Captain Jack. It brightened up the ward, put a smile on her face and gave her some fun memories”.
Andrew says he’ll do anything he can to help our campaign. 
“If I can raise funds for the children as Captain Jack, then that’s great.”

IF YOU have a special reason for contributing to or raising funds for our appeal then we’d like to hear from you. 
It could be that you’d like to thank caring staff for the treatment they’ve provided in your hour of need. Or perhaps a relative spent time in one of Scotland’s children’s hospitals and the experience has left a lasting impression on your family’s life.
Whatever the reason, please let us know. 
We’d be delighted to share your experiences with our readers. And, who knows, it may inspire others to follow in your fund-raising footsteps.

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