Murray MacGregor – Friday 30th August 2019 – 8.01am.
Four staff from Stoke Hub have climbed the highest peak in south Wales in memory of the brother of one of the paramedics who died suddenly from a heart attack at just 45 years.
The sponsored walk has raised over £3,500 for the British Heart Foundation and their campaign to raise awareness of heart health and the small things that everyone can do to help themselves and their research into heart disease.
The walk was organised by Paramedic Rachel Smith. It was her brother Gordon who so tragically died. She was joined by fellow paramedics Rob Palmer and Lucy Barrow along with Technician Nicola Smith. They completed the walk along with friends of Gordon who came from throughout the country to remember him.
Between them, the 20 people in the group, they cumulatively climbed 11,000 metres, walked over 100 miles while climbing Pen y Fan.
Gordon sister Rachel said: “Sadly, Gordon died suddenly earlier this year after suffering a heart attack. Gordon’s Walk took place because his friends wanted to do something to raise funds and remember a unique and special person who is very much missed by his family, friends and colleagues. It’s a great way to remember him and support each other.
“Gordon was in a high-risk category, but no one really knew, or expected him to have a fatal heart attack, so having that knowledge is the first step towards a healthy heart and less heartbreak.
“We want to raise awareness of heart health and the small things that everyone can do to help themselves. We chose to walk for our fundraiser because walking regularly is great exercise and can really make a difference.
“As a paramedic, we obviously see lots of patients who have heart issues so to lose your brother to heart disease at such a young age was a real shock.
“It therefore seemed like a natural thing to do to raise money for such a worth cause. There are lots of things that we can all do to help ourselves.”
You can still make a donation via the group’s JustGiving page which can be found can be found here. They hope that they will reach at least £4,500 once all of the moneys have been collected.
Ends
The whole group who walked to remember Gordon