New mum sacrifices Jambo loyalty wearing Hibs top to raise money for NHS

“If I can help the NHS in any way I will.”
Catriona Meachan in her Hibs top with baby Matilda.Catriona Meachan in her Hibs top with baby Matilda.
Catriona Meachan in her Hibs top with baby Matilda.

A new mum has sacrificed her Jambo loyalty by wearing a Hibs top to raise money for the NHS.

Catriona Meachan, 31, said she “would do anything” for the health service after the care she received at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary when her baby was born in April.

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Ms Meachan’s husband is a staunch Hibs supporter, and a friend of the couple’s promised to give £100 to the NHS if Ms Meachan wore her husband’s Hibs top for a photograph.

Baby Matilda in her Hibs top.Baby Matilda in her Hibs top.
Baby Matilda in her Hibs top.

“Challenge accepted. If I can help the NHS in any way – even wearing a hibs top – I will, as if it wasn't for the NHS I may not have my gorgeous baby,” said Ms Meachan.

She was kept in hospital after a checkup due to high blood pressure, and spent three nights alone before the baby was born three weeks early on April 18.

Her husband Ryan was not allowed to visit until the final hours before the birth, and Ms Meachan felt nervous, especially as the baby was her first.

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“I was terrified, it was my first baby, I didn’t really know what was going on, and I couldn’t have my husband to come and see me,” she said.

Catriona and Ryan Meachan after getting engaged at Tynecastle.Catriona and Ryan Meachan after getting engaged at Tynecastle.
Catriona and Ryan Meachan after getting engaged at Tynecastle.

“The nurses were amazing, they were so understanding.”

“They were almost a shoulder to cry on, they understood that everyone was finding it hard on their own at such an important time in life having a baby. They were just great all round.

“In particular the midwife who delivered the baby, Serena, was a delight. I don’t think I could have done it without her, she was so good with me.”

Ms Meachan and her husband brought Matilda home and for the first few weeks were not allowed to see any relatives due to the lockdown restrictions.

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However this did not prevent them attempting to recruit Matilda to their own teams, as the rest of Ms Meachan’s family are Hearts supporters, apart from her mother.

After a few weeks a parcel arrived which the Meachans had not ordered.

They opened it to reveal a babygrow labelled “Hearts Fan” and a jacket bearing the Hearts badge from Ms Meachan’s brother James.

"“Every time I see him he asks if she’s supporting Hearts yet. He says she wants to be a Jambo rather than a Hibee,” said Ms Meachan.

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She thinks Matilda will grow up a Hibs fan, as she followed her dad’s team as a child and expects Matilda to do the same.

“As much as it pains me I think I’m going to have to let her do that. I don’t think she suits green but her dad thinks it’s the only colour she does suit,” she said.

Team rivalry has long been a bone of contention within the marriage, leading to “arguments every derby day” between the two season ticket holders.

But Mr Meachan conceded when he brought his girlfriend to Tynecastle in December 2018, and instead of the stadium tour he had promised her instead proposed by the dugouts.

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