On August 9th 2017 my wonderful mother, Steph Talbot, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer, leaving a huge hole in my life.

Towards the end of her career as an Intensive Care nurse my mother had begun to realise there was a lack of any kind of after-care for patients who had been in hospital for a variety of heart problems. This meant they were often fearful about how to get on with their lives safely and they often had repeated visits back to hospital. In 1992 she began to set up what was to become Yeovil Heartbeat. Twent-six years later many thousands of patients have been through the gym and other facilities on offer to help them on their journey to full recovery. Yeovil Heartbeat now offers support to individuals who have suffered cardiac problems across the county. They offer a listening ear, emotional support, advice regarding diet and exercise and guided gym sessions led by specially trained cardiac nurses. The charity transforms lives on the basis of voluntary donations and a lot of hard work fundraising. For her amazing contribution to the care of cardiac patients my mother received an MBE from The Queen. On 27th May this year Yeovil Hospital will also be renaming their cardiac unit after my mother.

In her memory and to honour the enormous legacy my mother left I want to raise money for the charity she set up. On 14th July 2018 I, and many friends, will be cycling approximately 50 miles around the Wiltshire countryside. If you could make a contribution, no matter how small, in my mother's memory, then you will be helping Yeovil Heartbet continue to transform lives.