Thank you for visiting our JustGiving page! We are 5 brothers (Aled, Billy, Ceri, Gwyn & Hefin) who have come together to take on a series of challenges to show our support and solidarity to our Mum – Ann Evans – who was diagnosed in 2021 with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

MND is a progressive and uncommon condition that sadly has no happy ending. With MND, messages from the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord gradually stop telling muscles how to move, with this leading to a series of life-altering and life-limiting complications. Despite its incurable nature, we hold onto hope that continued research will one day, in the not so distant future, find a cure.

Mum has not escaped any of the typical debilitating symptoms of MND, but is a real fighter who is showing incredible courage and resilience in dealing with the formidable daily challenges that MND throws at her. True to her good nature and strong personality, she refuses to complain about her condition and soldiers on, taking on each stage of MND with a staggering level of bravery. Mum’s strength in adversity is an inspiration to all 5 of us, our wives and our children.

Mum now faces extremely limited mobility, can no longer talk and also relies on a feeding tube to keep her alive. She also depends on a fantastic support network of family, friends, carers and professionals to assist her on a daily basis. A special shout goes out to Dad, who has provided Mum with immense support from the very beginning and works tirelessly to help her achieve the best possible quality of life in the circumstances.

SPONSORSHIP

Whilst we are eternally grateful to all the agencies - including the NHS and Shalom House Palliative Care - that have supported Mum with such incredible compassion, commitment and professionalism, for this challenge we’ve decided to raise money for the Paul Sartori Foundation. The Paul Sartori Foundation is Pembrokeshire’s only hospice at home charity offering free specialised, supportive care and advice for those in the later stages of any life-limiting illness. Their support, led by Gaynor Davies, has proven invaluable to Mum, enhancing her quality of life at the most trying of times and enabling Mum to continue to live where she wants to be, i.e. at home in Dinas, Pembrokeshire. Their assistance has also proven a godsend for Dad in providing some respite from caring responsibilities.

CHALLENGES

We will never fully understand how difficult it must be for Mum living with the colossal challenges that MND brings, but to show our support for Mum and to acknowledge the incredible courage she is showing, we will take on our own endurance challenges between April and June 2024:

• Rowing Challenge (Hefin) – 5 km’s of rowing every day for a month (150 km’s in total and comparable to rowing across the Irish Sea from Fishguard to Rosslare!)

• The Welsh 15 Peaks Challenge (Ceri with friends Andy, Xav and Simon) – all 4 will hike the 15 peaks over 3000 feet in Snowdonia / Eryri in less than 24 hours (around 52 km’s of walking and over 14,000 feet of ascent, equivalent to climbing from sea level to nearly half way up Everest or from sea level to not far off the summit of Mont Blanc!)

• Running Challenge (Billy) – 5 km’s of running every day for a month (150 km’s in total and similar to running from Fishguard to Cardiff!)

• Mini-triathlon Challenge (Gwyn) – 2 km sea swim, 25 km cycle and 8 km hike with 2,200 feet of ascent (to take place near Whangarai, North Island, New Zealand, where Gwyn and his family live)

• Brecon Beacons North Ridge hike (Aled with his friends Ed and Phil) – A 21 km hike across some of the most challenging terrain the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park has to offer with over 4,900 feet of elevation gain.

We are also proud that our kids have decided to get in on the action and some of them will climb Snowdon during this period in support of the same cause!

We are immensely grateful for any amount you can donate towards the Paul Sartori Foundation. Your contribution will make a difference in ensuring that other families, in their time of need, receive the same fantastic support that Mum has benefitted from.

If you are unable to contribute financially at this time, sharing this page with your friends and family would mean the world to us as well.

Thank you for your support (Aled, Billy, Ceri, Gwyn & Hefin).