A care worker from Ross-on-Wye is running this year’s Oysho Cardiff Half Marathon in memory of her fiancé who tragically died from a cardiac arrest.
This will be the first time Mandy Morgan, 44, will have taken on the 13.1-mile distance and she’ll be doing so to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
The mum-of-five found her fiancé Stuart unresponsive in bed after coming home from a night shift in January 2022. Devastatingly, despite performing CPR with her daughter Max, then 15, nothing could be done to save him. He was just 46 years old.
Mandy said: “During Covid Stuart and I were doing a virtual Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge. We were walking a lot but he was getting breathless and dizzy, and his Apple watch was showing an irregular heartbeat.”
Stuart went to his doctor and tests confirmed this was the case. In February 2021 he was fitted with a pacemaker.
Mandy said: “The news completely frightened us all, and as it was the pandemic we couldn’t go into hospital with him. He had the pacemaker fitted and started to build his fitness back up over time, but he spent a few months going back and forth to the hospital to have the pacemaker tweaked to find the right settings for him. On top of this we were also moving two households into one, so it was quite a stressful.”
Then in January 2022 Stuart was at Hereford Hospital having a check-up. Thankfully, all appeared to be fine.
Mandy said: “The check-up put our minds at rest. Stuart went to work and then I went off to do my night shift at a care home a few hours later. We chatted that evening via message and said goodnight – I didn’t know it at the time but that would be the last time I ever spoke to him.”
At 7.30am the next day Mandy returned home from work. She put the kettle on to make a cup of tea and then went upstairs.
She said: “I opened my bedroom door, and the room was in darkness. I thought Stuart was asleep, so I said good morning, but he didn’t reply. I leaned over to give him a kiss but I felt coldness. That’s when I turned the light on and screamed. My daughter Max was just walking out the door for school but came running back in to help.”
The pair then started CPR while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
Mandy said: “Adrenaline kicked in and we went straight into performing CPR. As I work in care, the hardest thing was knowing he’d already gone, but you still cling on to that glimmer of hope just in case. It was extremely hard and I’m so proud of my daughter for how she reacted.
“When you’re in that moment it feels as if it takes forever for the emergency services to arrive, but they soon came and took over from us. Later they came downstairs and told us that he’d passed. He’d had a cardiac arrest.”
The couple were planning to get married in June 2023 time and in that moment, Mandy said her life changed in a flash.
She said: “I was so grateful to have my kids, they kept me going. All I could do was live one day to the next – you don’t know how you’re going to wake up and feel or if you’re even going to be able to leave the house.
“We just coped by making memories for him and that summer I took the children to Cornwall for the first time. We went to Land’s End – where Stuart and I had done our virtual walk.
“We still make sure to talk about him. Stuart was such a kind man and would do anything for everyone. He was so funny and could make anyone laugh. He was stepdad to my five children and had three children of his own – as well as two grandchildren, one of whom he sadly never got to meet. I’m so grateful that I’d taken lots of photos and videos so I can look back at our time together.”
Mandy is now looking to take on the Oysho Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 5 October in memory of Stuart and to raise as much as she can for the British Heart Foundation.
She’s currently being monitored by cardiologists for heart palpitations and also wants to raise the importance of everyone learning CPR saying: “It’s so important that everyone has the knowledge to do CPR. It was an unfortunate situation for us, but it really can help save lives.”
Mandy added: “I’m OK to run, I just need to know my limits. I’ve done a lot of fundraising over the years but wanted to give back to the charity that has helped so much. This will be my first half marathon, so it will be a challenge, but I’ll be so proud of myself when I cross that finish line.”
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, said: “We’re always in awe of the runners taking part in our events, and hearing from Mandy has inspired us all. We can’t wait to welcome her to the Welsh capital on race day and look forward to cheering her round the course as she raises money for such a brilliant charity.”
