A MAN is to take on the National Three Peaks Challenge later this week in memory of a late Rhyl woman, and in aid of the hospital ward which provided months of treatment for her.
Paul Billington-Dykes, from Penyffordd, will set out with a group of friends to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa within 24 hours, starting on Thursday (June 20).
He is aiming to raise £5,000 from the Enfys ward at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan, which cared for Emma Murray, a Rhyl woman who was married to Paul’s best friend, Liam.
Sadly, Emma died of sepsis at the age of 33 on December 27, 2023, having been “on the brink of triumph over cancer”, which she had been diagnosed with in April of last year.
Paul now wants to support the Enfys ward as a way of thanking the staff there for the help they gave Emma during her illness - www.justgiving.com/page/pbd-doing-3-peaks-for-emma-murray.
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He said: “Emma was fun and bubbly, and very close to her family. She and Liam were making plans for the new year, knowing that she was getting through her cancer treatment with positive results.
“Every time she went in to hospital for treatment, she’d say: ‘I’m going to beat this’. The biggest shock was that she had pretty much beaten it, and then sepsis got her.
“Her family and friends were devastated, and since then, I’ve done my absolute best to support Liam and the family through this difficult time.
“She was in and out of the Enfys ward since her treatment started last summer, so this is the least I could do, really.”
Emma had just finished her treatment for lymphoma when her husband, Liam, noticed she began to appear unwell again just after Christmas last year.
Paul had been best man at their wedding in Mexico in November 2022, and said he and Liam, who he has known for about 25 years, are “like brothers”.
He will be joined on the walk by five friends, while his wife and his father-in-law will be driving them from one location to another.
“I’ve never done it before – I’m a bit nervous, only because I’m 44 in a few weeks, and I’m at that stage where everything’s starting to hurt!,” Paul said.
“We’ve been training for months now, so we just want to get it done.”
Paul, who hopes to raise awareness of sepsis as well as donations for Glan Clwyd through his efforts, said much of the money he receives will go towards redecorating the Enfys ward’s “family room”.
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