A husband-and-wife duo from Cardiff will be taking on the Brecon Carreg Porthcawl 10K to raise money for the event’s lead charity Tŷ Hafan.
The children’s hospice is particularly close to their hearts as it cares for their 15-year-old niece Elain.
Anwen and Huw Jones are currently doing the Couch to 5K training programme, as well as parkruns, in preparation for the race which takes place in the seaside town on Sunday 6 July.
When Elain was born in March 2010 she was diagnosed with a complicated heart condition, including the genetic condition 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. It means she also has global developmental delay, autism, low muscle tone and an impaired immune system.
Elain has undergone multiple surgeries – the first when she was just three months old. However, unfortunately the complexity of her condition means it is not one that doctors are able to fix, meaning her condition is life-limiting.
Anwen, 40, who will be studying to become a primary school teacher later this year, said: “Elain has been through so much and she’s been in and out of hospital so many times.
“Although she’s life-limited, she continues to surprise us all. Her body continues to develop, and doctors have been able to give her more interventions than they ever thought possible.
“She’s really strong. The care she’s given is fantastic as she continues to enjoy the best quality of life as possible.”
The family have done a lot of fundraising challenges for Tŷ Hafan over the years including walks and cycles. However, wanting to push their fitness further, Huw decided to surprise Anwen with an entry into this year’s race on Christmas Day.
Anwen said: “Huw gave me a piece of paper with a QR code on it for Christmas. I thought it was a concert ticket at first but then saw the Porthcawl 10K entry page. Luckily I didn’t take offence and I thought it was funny.”
Huw, 44, a data analyst, added: “We try to do as much as we can for Tŷ Hafan and this year we decided to do the Porthcawl 10K.
“We’re in our 40s now and wanted to push ourselves with our health and fitness and it’s nice that this is something we can do together.”
The couple said that Elain loves going to Tŷ Hafan.
“It’s a cliché – people think Tŷ Hafan is a sad place and think it’s difficult to go there,” said Anwen. “But the care and staff are just amazing. I’ve been really lucky to swim in the hydro pool with her and I’ve seen how happy Elain is when she’s there.”
Tŷ Hafan is currently only able to reach 1 in 10 families who need its help which is why it’s asking as many people as possible to join its fundraising team so that when a child’s life will be short, Tŷ Hafan can walk alongside every family, through life, death and beyond.
Money raised will help the charity provide the best possible care and support to ensure the children they help live a full life. Each £75 raised can provide emotional support to a sibling to help them cope with the death or their sister or brother, £125 could help families feel more at peace, understood and better equipped to handle their loss after receiving specialist bereavement counselling and £150 could support their nurses to do what they do best – providing expert medical care to seriously ill children.
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organisers Run 4 Wales, said: “Tŷ Hafan is such a fantastic place that helps so many children and their families – we’re so pleased it is this year’s lead charity at the Brecon Carreg Porthcawl 10K. We wish Anwen and Huw the best of luck with the training and fundraising for such a worthwhile cause.”
Donate to Anwen and Huw visit: https://porthcawl10k25.enthuse.com/pf/anwen-jones
