A man from Swansea and a group of his friends have raised thousands of pounds for a charity which supports his 18-month-old daughter - by walking 31 hours non-stop from Swansea to Bristol.
Stonemason Mathew Mariani decided to make the incredible 90-mile trip on foot to raise money for Heart Heroes, which provides support for children with congenital heart conditions. You can keep up to date with the latest Swansea news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
His own daughter Esme suffers from a complete atrioventricular septal defect, a condition where there are holes between the chambers of the right and left sides of the heart, and where valves controlling the blood flowing between them may not be formed correctly.
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She was diagnosed when she was just 10 days old, and underwent open heart surgery at just six months old. Her condition means that she may need further treatment as she grows up, so her father decided to take on a rather gruelling challenge to raise both money and awareness.
“Esme was born on New Year’s Day and had only been home for five days when we noticed her breathing wasn’t right, so we took her into an out-of-hours clinic,” said Mathew. "They sent her straight to Morriston Hospital where she was put into the high dependency unit. There was even talk of airlifting her to Cardiff, because she wasn’t stabilising. Fortunately, they managed to get things under control and she was later moved to Cardiff.
“The whole of last January was crazy. Emily and I were just passing each other as we took it in turns to be with Esme, because at the time there were Covid restrictions in place. The only time we were together at the hospital was for her diagnosis. Esme was in Cardiff for a couple of weeks, then back to Morriston again, so she was in hospital for about a month altogether.”
Mathew, aged 34, along with seven friends, took it upon themselves to walk from Singleton Hospital in Swansea, where Esme was born, to Bristol Royal Infirmary, where she underwent surgery. The walk was completed in 31 hours - meaning the group completed the task, without stopping, at an impressive rate of just over half an hour a mile.
They were encouraged along the way by videos sent to them by members of the Welsh rugby team, and were cheered as they got to their destination by Esme herself and her mum, Emily Bowen, who has just become a hub co-ordinator for Heart Heroes in south Wales.
So far, the group has raised around £12,000 for the charity, thanks to the walk and other fundraising activities. Mathew added: “We heard about the charity when we were in Bristol and we met another hub coordinator, who was on the ward at the same time as us. We have found it really supportive, because unless you've gone through this experience yourself it’s hard for people to understand.”
Heart Heroes, which aims to support not just children living with heart conditions but their families too, is extremely grateful to Mathew and his family and friends for all of their efforts. Kelly Cornish, the charity’s founder, said: “We rely on donations to run all our events and activities, and this is a significant amount for us. Not only that - Mathew and Emily are helping to spread awareness of Heart Heroes so we can help more families like theirs.”
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