StemCell Therapy

We have all heard heartbreaking stories about those who have battled lifelong illnesses or died in sudden and unexpected circumstances.

But sometimes when tragedy strikes it can also act as a way of highlighting issues and helping others suffering similar heartache.

Here we look at some of the wonderful legacies that are working tirelessly to keep alive the memories of people across Wales who were taken too soon.

Mathew Mizen was just 25 years old when he suddenly died following a short mystery illness.

A popular postman from Cwmavon, in Neath Port Talbot, he had been playing rugby for his beloved Cwmavon RFC just three weeks before he died.

After suddenly becoming ill he began to deteriorate and was admitted to hospital.

While his death at the time remained a mystery to his loved ones, tests later showed he died from acute respiratory distress syndrome with an underlying diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma.

His parents, Rhidian and Myra Mizen, decided to set up The Mathew Mizen Foundation in his memory as a way to give back to the community of Cwmavon.

"Mathew passed away suddenly in 2008 when he was 25," his father said. "He was a postman and then he went off work sick.

"He went into hospital on Boxing Day and passed away on January 4. He was taken into Singleton Hospital before they sent him to Cardiff.

"We found out that he had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We thought for a while that we should do something.

"Mathew was one of the village postmen and played for Cwmavon rugby and cricket clubs so we thought we will start something up because of his connections with the village and all the money raised we would use for people living in the village."

The foundation in his name has now been running for a decade and has built up a reputation for its annual January charity dip at Aberavon beach.

After first starting out with around 15 people heading into the freezing-cold sea, now around 50 people are brave enough to take the plunge.

Mr Mizen added: "It's been going for about 10 years now. At the time my wife and I had a caravan in Pendine and we went into the pub one day and they were advertising for a swim on Boxing Day and I thought 'I wouldn't mind trying that' so we set one up for the Sunday that's closest to when Mathew passed away.

"In the first year we had about 15 people doing it but this year we had about 48 so it seems to be growing bigger and bigger.

"We've also done a cycle ride between the Principality Stadium and Aberavon rugby club and we've put on shows. A husband and wife in the village have done a skydive.

"With the funds we have been able to buy interactive whiteboards for Cwmafan School, new kit for the rugby team in the school, a new walking frame for a girl with cerebral palsy, and the most we've given is 2,500 for a young boy to play cricket."

Mr Mizen said both he and his wife still get approached by people in the village with fond memories of their son.

"He was helpful. We often get people saying 'Mathew was my postman and he helped me'. One woman said that he helped her move her fridge," he added.

"He was outgoing and loved his rugby. He was full of fun and was known for his smile everybody remembers him for his smile.

"I think Mathew would be proud and if he was alive he would be doing the dip and the shows himself.

"I'm hoping that he's looking down on us and smiling."

In February 2012 Rhian Mannings' life was turned upside down when her one-year-old son George died suddenly after suffering a seizure at home.

It was later discovered that George was suffering with bronchial pneumonia and a severe strain of type A influenza.

Just five days later her grief-stricken husband Paul took his own life.

Amid her darkest hour the Pontyclun mum set up the charity 2 Wish Upon A Star which provides support to bereaved families.

"My one-year-old son died suddenly in an A&E department and we left with no idea where to go next," she said.

"Five days later my husband took his own life. We received no support and had nowhere to turn.

"Within a few months I knew I wanted to help our local community in Miskin as they were the only support we received.

"I set up a fund and within weeks it was clear that I had identified a gap across Wales.

"People contacted me saying 'this has happened to me' so I decided to give up my job as a teacher and tried to put things in place for people who have lost a child."

One of the aims that the charity has is to have memory boxes available at hospitals across Wales for families who have suffered a loss.

Families can also be offered a referral to the charity's counselling services if they wish to do so.

"When George died they had nothing to keep memories so we have put things in place at every hospital so families can leave with something," Rhian added.

"We make sure there are facilities for families and at the moment there are nine family rooms in hospitals to make sure there's somewhere for them to sit down.

"The ripple effect of such tragedy brought the community together and we have raised over 1m through fundraising alone.

"I can't thank the people of Miskin enough. So many families need our support."

Helping other families who are going through similar tragedy is Rhian's way of keeping her son's legacy going.

Earlier this year 2 Wish Upon A Star was given a boost when Coldplay recorded a special version of one of their biggest hits for the charity.

She added: "George was my youngest and he was the happiest, easiest little boy who completed our family.

"We were a lovely family of five and had everything we wanted life was brilliant.

"Life will never be the same but we share memories and photos around the house.

"It's my boy's legacy and it will always be bittersweet."

When Ben and Catherine Mullany married in July 2008 no-one could have predicted the tragedy that would take place just days later.

While on honeymoon in Antigua the health professionals, both aged 31 and from the Swansea Valley, were shot by intruders in their luxury chalet.

Mr Mullany was in his third year of training to become a physiotherapist while his new wife was a paediatrician training to become a GP.

Mrs Mullany died instantly after being shot in the head while her husband was taken to hospital before later being flown home on a life-support machine.

Doctors at Morriston Hospital proceeded with brain stem testing but the day after his arrival his life-support machine was switched off.

Following a two-month trial in Antigua Kaniel Martin and Avie Howell were found guilty of murdering the couple and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Mullany Fund was set up in their memory with the aim of helping young people realise their potential.

The charity harnesses the couple's passion for life sciences and encourages and helps young people take a step closer to pursuing a career in the medical field.

Project manager at the charity, Sarah James, said: "The project was set up in 2008 as a remembrance charity for Ben and Catherine.

"As a whole we believe that all young people should have equal opportunities to succeed.

"We work with partners to promote and encourage the ability of young people particularly aged between 14 and 19.

"In 2015 the charity was successful in gaining funding for an online mentoring project for young people where we work with volunteers across the UK.

"We work with schools, community groups, and students in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend, and Merthyr Tydfil."

The mentoring scheme introduces young people to professional mentors who offer them advice and guidance as well as an insight into life sciences.

The charity's objective is to give every young person, regardless of their background, the opportunity to access a career in life sciences by providing the support they need to follow their aspirations.

"About 600 people across the five areas have registered for Mullany e-mentoring," Sarah added.

"We have had very positive feedback from the people involved and the mentors are happy to be involved as they feel like they are giving back."

Paul Popham battled kidney failure for more than half of his life but in the words of his daughter "you wouldn't have known he was ill".

From the age of 30 he was undergoing kidney dialysis but in later life he was dealt another blow as he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

In October 2008 Mr Popham, from Swansea, was given just nine months to live and told that his only hope of living longer was to take a drug called Sutent.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence initially refused to fund the 30,000-plus treatment but when Mr Popham's family began collecting signatures, lobbying politicians, and even taking their fight to Downing Street, the Assembly finally made the drug available in January 2009.

It wasn't until four years after his prognosis that Mr Popham died at the age of 67 in October 2012.

In the following months his family and friends decided to set up the Paul Popham Fund to help other renal patients across Wales.

His daughter Joanne said: "The Paul Popham Fund was set up in memory of my father.

"He had kidney failure for over half his life but he dealt with it in a positive manner. You wouldn't have known he was ill. It did not define him.

"He played football, worked shifts at Alcoa, and brought up a family of four.

"From the age of 30 he was on dialysis and in the later years he got kidney cancer."

Mr Popham was actively involved with St Joseph's AFC throughout his life and was even a founding member.

"He was very fun-loving and very positive," his daughter added.

"He played football all of his life and was a founding member of St Joseph's football club and they still support the charity.

"He absolutely loved that club and I think it was his second family.

"He was also a member of the Labour party. He loved his music and was a family man."

Mr Popham's family and friends hoped that the charity could help other patients "lead a better quality of life".

After initially setting out to raise funds for Morriston Hospital's renal unit, the charity has since gone on to offer a befriending and counselling service.

"He was a positive man and we wanted to do something positive in his memory so we got family and friends together to talk about what we wanted to do," Joanne added.

"We set it up in March 2013 with the aim was to raise funds in memory of my father and donate them to Morriston Hospital's renal unit.

"It's for his legacy and to do what my father did to help people lead a better quality of life.

"We now also run a befriending and counselling service and train kidney patients to befriend and provide support to new patients.

"He would be proud of the work that we are doing but he wouldn't want his name on it as he was a private man.

"In terms of the work, he owed his life to the NHS and would always champion it.

"To think we are supporting them and patients like him, he would be over the moon."

It was in the run-up to Christmas that the lives of one young family from Cardiff changed forever.

While the Bates family were returning home from a festive party the lives of the happy family of four were destroyed in a split second as a car ploughed into two of them as they crossed a road near Miskin.

Dad Stuart was tragically killed while seven-year-old son Fraser was left fighting for his life.

He was rushed to a specialist hospital in Bristol for emergency care but sadly died several hours later as his injuries were too severe.

Mum Anna Louise and daughter Elizabeth, who was just three at the time, were not injured during the incident but have had to live with the pain of losing both Stuart and Fraser.

Just over a week after the unimaginable loss Anna Louise made the decision to focus her energy and grief on helping others going through similar heartache.

She set up the charity Believe to offer support and education around organ donation as her husband and son saved several lives when their organs were donated.

"We set the charity up within a week of the loss of my husband and son," Anna Louise said.

"I had a situation that you would not wish on anybody. I had had this conversation with my husband just a few weeks before about organ donation and I knew what they would have wanted me to do.

"It just struck me that no-one knew about organ donation and I did not realise that I could override my husband's wishes, even though he had opted in.

"It became really clear that it was time to talk about this and we wanted to break down the taboo and talk about it.

"Death and grief; it's a very traumatic time and I wanted to assist and provide support to others."

In recent years the charity has managed to create an animation aimed at children to help them understand organ donation, which has reached eight million people around the world.

The animation even went on to win at the Charity Film Awards in 2019, while Anna Louise has also received numerous awards for her work including a Pride of Britain award and The Points of Light.

The charity has also been working with schools throughout Cardiff, as well as the WJEC, to incorporate organ donation into the national curriculum.

See more here:
The special legacies left by people who died too soon - Wales Online

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