On 29 September 2023, ten of us from our local gym will be taking on the challenge of walking the National 3 Peaks in 24 hours. Yes, you read that right - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon all in 24 hours! A total walking distance of 23 miles (37km), total ascent of 3064 metres (10,052 ft) and driving distance of 462 miles, this is going to be quite a challenge!!

This challenge is very personal to me as we will be raising money in memory of my late Mum, who unfortunately passed away from a little known condition called Pulmonary Fibrosis on 17 June 2021.

This condition is currently incurable and severely limits life expectancy. My Mum only survived 3 years from initial diagnosis and the person that was left at the end was an absolute shadow of the Mum I knew. 

Simply, Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) causes the usually spongy tissue in the lungs to become hard and thickened. This thickening increases and spreads through the lung becoming more and more difficult for the sufferer to breathe, reducing oxygen levels until they are no longer able to breathe any more. Everyday tasks like walking, talking, going to the toilet, washing and even eating become increasingly difficult and in the end impossible.

Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis (APF) is a growing community of patients, families, researchers and healthcare professionals striving to find a cure for pulmonary fibrosis so that everyone affected by the disease has a better future. They provide personalised support to patients and families - and raise awareness of pulmonary fibrosis through campaigning, fundraising and education. They are also committed to funding research to improve the quality of life for people living with pulmonary fibrosis today and tomorrow.

Unfortunately, the support networks in Wales are far fewer than other parts of the UK. WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS!!

PF can be very lonely and scary for sufferers and their families. A support network of people who you can talk to, who understand and can help with useful information is extremely important. It would have been invaluable for me and my family.

I can’t change the experience of my Mum and our family when she was battling this awful condition, but I hope we can raise a bit of awareness and some important funds to improve the situation for sufferers now.

Any donation you can make, no matter how big or small, is incredibly important and greatly appreciated. APF have kindly agreed to ring fence our fundraising for providing better support for those specifically in Wales, as well allocating some of it towards research to benefit all.

Please, anything you can give will help enormously and give us all that extra push and motivation i’m sure we’ll all need at some point on the peaks! Let’s do this!

Thank you!

Emma