A shocking tragedy has inspired a 13-year-old schoolboy from Pontypridd to climb three of Wales’ highest peaks, raising over £500 for charity after his much-loved grandfather died without warning while looking after him and his siblings, eight years ago.
Teenager Ben Gilley decided to take on the monumental fundraising challenge for the British Heart Foundation’s lifesaving research in memory of Clive Crandon, who had been a plumber in Beddau.
Clive was 64 years old when he suffered a fatal cardiac event caused by ischaemic heart disease near his only child Joanne’s home in the village.
Ben said: “In May 2014, 10 days before my 5th birthday, my Grampy died whilst out walking with me, my brother and my sister. He died from a heart condition and as a family we had no warning, it was a total shock.”
Clive’s son-in-law Mark, 42, said: “Joanne and I were due to get married in the August and she’d gone to try on her wedding dress with her mum Jeanette. Clive had collected my daughter Emily, who was two at the time, in a buggy, along with Ben, who was about to turn five and our older son Rhys, who was eight. He turned to cross the road outside our home and collapsed. He died suddenly and the impact on our family has been devastating. Ben treasures the roller boots his grandfather had bought for his birthday but never had chance to give him, as a reminder of the man who meant so much to us all.”
Following Clive’s death, Joanne and Mark made the difficult decision to go ahead with their wedding, with Joanne’s mother Jeanette walking her daughter down the aisle.
On Saturday 14th October Ben, Mark, and their friend and neighbour Ashley Edwards, 54, reached the 1,085m high summit of Snowdon, completing a challenge which saw them conquer Pen y Fan and Cadair Idris the day before. The trio experienced rain, hail, lightning, thunder, and strong winds on the mountains but they were determined to finish the challenge as a thank you to all those who had generously sponsored them in their mission to raise vital funds and power life-saving heart research.
Ben’s Mum, Joanne, 43, has previously completed her own challenge to support BHF Cymru by running the Cardiff Half Marathon in memory of her late father. She said: “We’re very proud of Ben and delighted that he’s already raised over £500, which will help the BHF fund research that could create new treatments and discover potential cures for heart and circulatory diseases. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, it means so much to Ben and our family.”
Mark has also completed a skydive to fundraise for the BHF and the Cardiff Half on several occasions. The family have raised over £2,000 for the BHF through their various challenges.
Mark said: “It devastated the family losing Clive so suddenly. We want to raise awareness that anyone who has concerns about their health must get checked by their doctor. Clive had put off going to the GP about a persistent cough he’d had. We now know what was due to fluid on his lungs which was caused by his heart condition. The post-mortem showed he had suffered a heart attack previously which we hadn’t known about.”
The family want to raise awareness of the symptoms of a heart attack, which can include pain or discomfort in your chest that happens suddenly and doesn’t go away, pain that spreads to your left or right arm, or to your neck, jaw, back or stomach, and feeling sick, sweaty, light-headed or short of breath. For some people the pain or tightness is severe, while for others it’s uncomfortable. It may feel like heaviness, or a burning pain similar to indigestion.
The Gilley family are encouraging everyone to learn CPR. “We had to perform CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] on Clive while we waited for the ambulance. Unfortunately, our efforts, and the medical treatment Clive received, weren’t enough to save him, but you never know when a tragedy like this will happen and everyone needs to know how to perform CPR to give people a chance of surviving.”
In Wales 340,000 people are living with heart and circulatory conditions. For more than 60 years the public’s generosity has funded pioneering BHF research that has turned ideas that once seemed like ‘science fiction’ into treatments and cures that save lives every day.
In the last 5 years [2017-2021], BHF Cymru has funded £9.5m worth of research in Welsh universities, supporting the work of 64 research staff.
BHF Cymru Fundraising Manager Carys Jenkins said: “We are so grateful to Ben for taking on this amazing challenge, especially in October when temperatures are much colder on the mountains. His bravery and efforts will help fund our research and hopefully inspire others to take on a challenge of their own to raise funds too. Thank you, Ben.”
You can support Ben’s fundraising efforts at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mark-gilley2
