Mexicans who saved the life of a deep-sea diver who almost died from Covid are heading to Scotland to help him dance at his wedding. Davy Duncan will welcome his doctor, nurse and taxi driver to his ceremony in Fort William this Saturday, where a mariachi band will play traditional music from their home country.
And the 61-year-old is determined to take to the dancefloor himself after several strokes left him reliant on a wheelchair and undergoing a huge battle to learn to walk again.
Wife-to-be Helen Smith, from Fort William, said: “Davy is so determined and motivated and he is adamant he will dance at our wedding. He wanted to do it unaided but we will have to work something out. He might manage a few steps but someone will have to be behind him with a wheelchair in case his knee goes.”
Davy added: “I can dance – I can put one foot in front of the other.”
He tested positive for Covid a week after going to Mexico for work in 2021. He had to be isolated on his ship for days due to the weather before a helicopter could get to a mainland hospital, and he suffered strokes and multiple organ failure.
Helen made a mercy dash across the Atlantic only to be given the news that Davy was unlikely to survive. For two months, it was touch and go as medics struggled to save him before he was flown to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, where he stayed for another six months. He was then moved to Belford Hospital, Fort William, before being allowed home.
After his recovery, Davy proposed to Helen, which set her on a £6000 fundraising mission to fly some of those who helped them in Mexico to their big day on the shores of Loch Linnhe. Irma Alvarez, Davy’s dedicated Mexican nurse, will fly to Scotland with her partner Oswaldo Pena.
Also attending will be Chico Garcia, the taxi driver who escorted Helen day and night through the reputedly dangerous city of Villahermosa, hunting rare blood supplies and acting as a translator. Dr Raphael Cortes, another key figure in Davy’s recovery, who now works in Trinidad, is also hoping to attend.
Irma said: “Davy became my favourite patient because, when he tried to speak, I asked him ‘Who am I? What is my name?’ He, with his characteristic accent, would say Irma. Helen has become a friend who will be in my heart forever. Her friendship is the best reward.”
Davy said: “I can’t wait to see everyone at the wedding. It’s absolutely amazing what Helen has done. I will have champagne and I might have a wee whisky to celebrate.”
Local fundraisers, who helped pay the travel costs, will meet the visitors when they arrive on Wednesday. Helen said: “We will have a dinner for them at ours and will make a mixture of Mexican and Scottish food.”
Having proposed to Helen 18 months ago in Raigmore Hospital, Davy has been making a weekly 140-mile return trip from Fort William to Inverness to build up his strength on an anti-gravity treadmill machine. Helen, 51, said: “He did 50 metres (164ft) the other day and he loved it. He is doing really well, he is getting stronger. He is so motivated, he’s such a positive person. He has never once said, ‘Why me?’ I will do whatever I can to help him.”
The groom, who used to enjoy mountaineering, had a stag party at a bothy in Glenfinnan. Helen, who made the trip from Fort William to Raigmore Hospital every day for six months, recalled Davy’s proposal.
She said: “We were lying in his bed on Ward 2 chatting and he asked me to marry him. No bended knee, no bling but it could not have been more romantic or emotional.”
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