Thanks for taking the time to visit Carolyn & Karen's JustGiving page.

Carolyn's Story:  l lost my mother June to cancer in 2012. She was a fantastic woman - loving, funny, generous, passionate, beautiful, bright with a cheeky laugh like a female Sid James. She was my closest friend and the best Mam a girl could have.

As a nurse who went on to teach nursing, she spent her life caring for others. When she was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 she was treated at Velindre. Although the cancer was incurable, we will never forget the wonderful care she was shown from staff who know that it's not just simply about the medical treatment, it's about the emotional support too.

After Mam died, I became an Ambassador for Velindre because I wanted to give something back. The trouble is, I'm a bit of a wimp. Every time they mentioned a physical fundraising challenge, I found some excuse...until now.

In November 2015, Velindre are marking the 150th anniversary of the Welsh who settled in Patagonia with a 11-day fundraising trek through this amazing part of the world. You can read more about the details of the challenge here: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/news-opinion/carolyn-hitt-im-leaving-straightners-7516529

It will be a huge challenge for me. We will be trekking up to 11 hours a day over rough terrain and scaling steep climbs but hey, I've bought new boots and I'm going up Pen y Fan a lot. Plus I'll have my great pal and fundraising partner Karen Price alongside me every step of the way. You can read her story below.

It would also have been my mother's 80th birthday just a few weeks before the Trek begins. This seemed a lovely serendipity. I can think of no better way of honouring her memory than raising as much money as possible for Velindre. And however tough the Trek will be its hardships will not compare to what cancer patients go through every day.

So thank you so much for supporting Hitty & Pricey's Patagonia Trek for Velindre. Let's hope we can do our bit to help fight the disease which can touch us all.

Karen's Story: When I was asked to be a part of something which would give me the chance to experience a new country, challenge my fitness levels and at the same time, raise funds for charity, the Velindre Patagonia Trek was a no-brainer.

I’ve always been fascinated with the country and have wanted to see for myself the place where our forefathers settled 150 years ago.

As far as fitness is concerned, since reaching my 40th birthday, I’ve been conscious that it’s time to up the exercise if I want to combat the middle-aged spread. I’ve been on several hikes with the Tiger Bay Ramblers and have realised just how much I love walking so if I’m going to do a fundraising challenge then it’s going to be this.

Yet I also realise this is going to be far tougher than anything I've done before - testing our fitness and endurance to the limit.  But I'm determined to rise to the challenge...and introduce Carolyn to her first pair of hiking boots too!

But the most important incentive is raising money for this incredible charity which treats cancer patients in Wales. So many people’s lives are touched by this cruel disease and one of my best friends, who was in her 40s when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, was treated there last year. The work they do for people like her and Carolyn's lovely mam June is incredible.

I know it’s not going to be easy and the training will be long and hard, but if we can smash our targets and help boost the coffers of Velindre it will be more than worth it.

Thank you for your support.

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