Starting on May 9th and finishing on May 16th 2026 Helen and I are walking the final 54 miles of the Offa's Dyke Path. This means that we will be 'Completers': we will have completed the 870 miles of the Wales Coastal Path AND the 177 mile Offa's Dyke Path which form the whole perimeter of Wales - a total of 1047 miles - hence our target figure!

Why are we fundraising for the RGH ITU?

We are two girls (!) originally and proudly from the Rhondda and we have taken the last 10 years to walk the Wales Coastal Path and most of the Offa's Dyke Path. We are keen to raise funds for a cause that is local to our roots and we think we have decided on one for our last big fundraising effort.

As some of you are aware, on September 22nd 2025 my husband Nick went into hospital for what we thought was going to be routine day surgery for an issue in his throat.

And then it all went terribly wrong. The camera used in the operation made a tiny puncture in his pharynx and the structures in his neck and throat began to fill with air. In order to save his life he was put into an induced coma, given a tracheostomy and fed through a tube. He spent 16 days in the ITU and HDU in the Royal Glamorgan before being moved to Ward 7 for another 17 days continued 'high care'.

We could have lost him 3 times.

The NHS staff were absolutely wonderful and the the care he received was second to none. We are, as a family, eternally grateful for the monitoring, the lightning responses, the care and compassion shown to him and to us.

Nick is now gradually regaining full strength both physically and mentally and he, along with the rest of us, would like to give something back to those wonderful doctors, nurses and ancillary staff who do this job day in and day out, with kindness and good humour and with the utmost professionalism.