A RHONDDA Valleys woman completed the ultimate challenge of running 5k every day for a month in memory of her much-loved uncle. To help cope with the grief of losing her uncle Malcolm, Jenna Ford, 36, wanted to give something back to the Wales Air Ambulance medics who tried to save Malcolm’s life.
In October, Malcolm collapsed on the way to a supermarket and despite the efforts of the emergency services he couldn’t be saved.
Jenna said: “When I arrived at the scene the ambulance service and Elliott Rees who was on board the Wales Air Ambulance Charity were working on Malcolm with a resuscitation machine. Elliot Rees was absolutely amazing and spoke to me and my family about everything they were going to try to do to help Malcolm in that hour whilst we watched helplessly. I sat on the floor holding Mal’s hand as they tried to bring him back. After an hour working on Mal, sadly they decided that they couldn’t do anymore, and he passed away.”
The air ambulance service in Wales is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
Jenna ran the 3.1 miles every day for the Wales Air ambulance and raised an incredible £1,575. She said: “To cope with my grief and to raise money for the charity as a thank you to Elliott and his team that day, I decided to run 5k (3.1miles) every day.”
Jenna shared her progress on social media and had numerous donations throughout the month. She said: “The fundraiser helped me so much mentally and it was great to see people donating so much, especially being close to Christmas and times being so hard money wise for some people. I am still shocked that I raised £1,575!”
This is the first time that Jenna has raised funds for the Wales Air Ambulance, and she hopes to raise more funds in the future. Jenna made a donation to the Charity in lieu of Christmas cards and she has now joined the Wales Air Ambulance’s monthly lottery. Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury. For the patient, this can mean hours saved when compared to standard care and is proven to greatly improve survival and early recovery.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident. As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care.
Grateful Jenna, who works as a Senior Pastoral Support Assistant and a Bingo Caller said: “My family and I feel that even though they couldn’t save our beloved Malcolm, we would like to hope that raising this money will support other families who will be in our situation, hopefully with a better outcome than ours.”
Abi Pearce, Wales Air Ambulance Regional Fundraising Manager said: “We are saddened to hear of Malcom’s passing and would like to send our sincere condolences to Jenna and her family. It is incredibly heartwarming to hear from our patient’s loved ones, and it is inspiring that Jenna has chosen to honour Malcolm’s memory by supporting our charity.
“Despite the pain that Jenna is going through, she has shown remarkable strength through the want to help others. Whilst still grieving, she wanted to make sure that our service can still be there for the people of Wales, if they need us, so she set herself the ultimate challenge of running an impressive 5k every day for a month and raised a fantastic amount for us. Thank you so much Jenna and to everyone who supported her with her fundraising efforts.”
