Friends unite to celebrate life of Nethy Bridge nurse who died in crash
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Colleagues of a popular trauma nurse who died in a horror crash are to celebrate her life with a charity fundraiser on the eve of what would have been her 40th birthday.
Sally Foulds left a husband and three young sons along with other family and friends including devastated colleagues at Raigmore Hospital's theatre department in Inverness following the crash last September.
It happened just minutes after the 38-year-old set off to drive from her Nethy Bridge home for work where she was renowned for her passion in her role as the trauma team lead.
She was involved in a collision with a lorry on the A95 Aviemore to Keith road and died at the scene.
As the first anniversary approaches, colleagues and friends are organising a Soiree for Sally, along with the involvement of family, as a positive way of remembering her and to raise money for Highland mental health charity Mikeysline, and Crocus Highland which supports bereaved children.
The event, at the Drumossie Hotel in Inverness on Friday, September 29, will include a three-course meal, entertainment by Rhythmnreel and MC Kenny Smith plus an auction.
The soiree, which is open to anyone, is being organised by theatre practitioners Alena McDiarmid, Fiona Evans and Tina Stan.
Mrs McDiarmid started working with Mrs Foulds in 2015 and they became close friends.
"Sally was a very bubbly, happy person who lit up the room," she said.
"She wasn't afraid to share her opinions whether invited to or not. She was so passionate about her job in theatre and furthermore, passionate about orthopaedics as a speciality.
"Sally was a wonderful friend to many, and the most wonderful mother."
She and her husband Greig had sons Rhys, Olly and Finlay.
"Sally loved the fine things in life and had expensive tastes such as Jo Malone and Fairfax and Favor!" Mrs McDiarmid recalled. "She had a bit of class.
"She loved to take the boys away on skiing holidays and down to Devon to visit her mum."
She said Sally's death had a huge impact on many people including her colleagues who were used to supporting each other people as part of their work but had been devastated by her death and its sudden nature.
But at the time everyone was so shrouded in shock and upset that there was no celebration of her life.
"Everyone was too raw," she reflected. "This fundraiser is a way of coming together – by people who knew Sally and those who did not – to celebrate the bright, bubbly person she was by having a night of good food, music and dancing on the weekend that would have been her 40th birthday."
They have chosen Mikeysline and Crocus Highland to benefit from the event due to their work in the area and because of the relevance due to the tragic circumstances in which Sally died and the effect it could have had on those around her.
"If we see some positivity from this, it will be a good thing," Mrs McDiarmid said.
"It will never take away from the pain people have been through or the loss they have experienced."
She hoped it would enable people to share memories and would be a happy and colourful occasion and a reflection of who Sally was.
There will also be a surprise as the event approaches midnight as Sally would have turned 40 on September 30.
Auction prizes include one week's accommodation in an apartment in Alicante, a four ball round of golf at Castle Stuart, lunch and a round of golf for three at Gleneagles, concert tickets, various nights away in Airbnbs, boardroom hospitality at a Caley Thistle game and a night in a glamping pod.
Tickets for Soiree for Sally, which starts at 6.30pm, are £70 per person. Tables of 10 are available for £700.
Call 07851 677663, or email soireeforsally@hotmail.com for more details.
