On 11th May, friends Morgan, Olly, Stephen and Frank took on the CarTen100 challenge and helped raise funds for Cardiff & Vale Health Charity.
They had registered for the event a while ago as they were interested in taking on the cycling ride, where their friend Sarah would join them as their support driver, bringing them home from Tenby on the day.
However, in April of this year (2024), Sarah battled an ear infection and burst eardrum. After being prescribed antibiotics and pain killers, Sarah then suffered a night of extreme headaches and vomiting, and was sent to hospital. Over the course of three days, Sarah had an inner ear infection drained and prescribed more antibiotics.
Sadly, the treatment wasn’t enough and Sarah continued to suffer until Morgan found her unconscious and unresponsive.
Sarah was rushed to University Hospital of Wales (UHW) where she has been diagnosed with a serious brain infection caused by meningococcal meningitis. Even after five weeks, Sarah remained in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Through this tumultuous time, there has been an outpouring of love, and well-wishes from friends, and Morgan has felt an influx of care and attention from all the NHS staff they’ve encountered; from paramedics to nurses, ICU consultants, therapists, microbiologists and neurosurgeons. It was made clear early on that Sarah’s case was particularly complicated and that her road to recovery will be both long and uncertain.
With all the effort being put into Sarah’s care, Morgan has felt the need to do something more to help. Though the CarTen was originally booked to ‘just be a bike ride’, Morgan, Olly, Stephen and Frank have turned the challenge into a fundraiser. Currently, they have raised over £3,500 from an initial target of £500 which is incredible! If you would like to help support their journey and donate, please visit their JustGiving page here. All funds will come to Cardiff & Vale Health Charity.
From all at the Health Charity, we are so grateful to Morgan, Olly, Stephen and Frank for their considerable efforts in raising so much money. We wish Sarah all the very best with her road to recovery.
If you feel inspired to take on a challenge this year, we still have spaces available for the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 6th. To find out more and register your interest, email fundraising.cav@wales.nhs.uk