A group of fundraising friends have honoured a woman who died from a brain tumour by finishing a trek she was too poorly to complete.
Nine pals swapped chocolate eggs for hiking boots over the Easter weekend as they took on the Welsh Three Peaks to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. They climbed more than 2,334 metres, taking on the mountainous terrain of Pen Y Fan and Cadair Idris, before ending their 18-hour adventure at the top of Snowdon.
The challenge was inspired by their adventure-seeking friend Theresa O’Donnell, who died from a brain tumour in 2021, aged 33.
Ashleigh Bedi, a life-long friend of Theresa, said: “The hike was gruelling but nothing we experienced during that day could match the pain Theresa experienced in her final months.”
Theresa was diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma in 2013. An operation and radiotherapy kept Theresa’s tumour stable for six years, but a routine scan in 2020 showed the tumour had grown and become aggressive.
Ashleigh added: “During the last months of her life, Theresa created a bucket list. Instead of spa breaks and exotic destinations, she wrote of how she wanted to summit Mount Snowdon in Wales. Unfortunately she became too weak to do so. We want to keep her memory alive and complete her bucket list, whilst raising money for Brain Tumour Research so we hope for this to be the first of many voyages in her honour.”
The epic challenge has raised more than £11,000 so far. There’s still time to support the group by donating to their JustGiving page here.