A 23-year-old woman from Caerphilly is running the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon to raise money for Tŷ Hafan.
Heidi Perkins, a flood risk consultant from Bedwas, said the charity provided ‘amazing care’ for her nephew Matthew who sadly passed away when he was just seven weeks old.
Matthew was born in July 2023 by emergency C-section after a midwife was concerned with his growth.
Heidi said: “Throughout my sister Caroline’s pregnancy everything looked fine. But at 38 weeks her midwife wanted to send her for some more scans as the growth of her bump wasn’t looking right. The scans detected there was something wrong with Matthew’s heart and an emergency C-section was planned for the next couple of days.”
Matthew was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease of his heart muscle, and needed to spend the next three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at the University Hospital of Wales, before going to Tŷ Hafan.
Heidi said: “They did as much as they could for him in NICU. Caroline could feed him milk with a bottle and we even managed to bring him back to the farm, where we live, for a day. But we were told his only option was to have a heart transplant, and he was far too young for the procedure.
“The main problem was that he was growing and his heart couldn’t keep up. There wasn’t anything more that could be done for him at that point and the only option from there was to take him to Tŷ Hafan to make him as comfortable as possible. It would allow Caroline and her partner Joey to care for him with the help of the nurses onsite and enable them to make memories as a family.”
While Caroline and Joey stayed onsite with Matthew, Heidi together with her mum, Joanne, dad, David, and younger sister, Kate, would visit them as much as possible.
She said: “Tŷ Hafan were wonderful. They have a fantastic garden right by the sea and we’d take him out in his pushchair and walk him around the grounds, and read to him every day, making some lovely memories. The care they provided to Matthew was amazing and they were always on hand whenever Caroline and Joey needed them.”
However, sadly in August 2023 when Matthew was just seven weeks old his body couldn’t take anymore.
The family held a small funeral and cremation. They planted trees in their farm with his ashes and also created a memorial garden to remember him by.
Heidi said: “It’s been really tough, but the whole family is there for each other and we’re all helping each other through this difficult time.”
Heidi will now be taking on the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 6th October to raise money for the charity. She’ll be running with her boyfriend, Tom, and friends, Menna and Euan.
She said: “I’ve never done a run in my life, but Matthew was a fighter and I wanted to do something that would be a huge challenge for me, to raise money in his memory. It’s also important to me to help Tŷ Hafan continue with being able to provide incredible support to families going through such a difficult time.”
James Davies-Hale, Head of Fundraising for Tŷ Hafan, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Heidi for committing to run this year’s Cardiff Half Marathon in memory of Matthew and indeed to everyone who has signed up to do the Cardiff Half for Tŷ Hafan. Thanks to you, we will be able to help more children like Matthew and their families.
“We still have discounted spaces available for only £10 so if anyone would like to run for Tŷ Hafan you can sign up via our website: www.tyhafan.org/events/cardiff-half-marathon/ or call/email our Supporter Care Team on 02920 532 255 / [email protected] to secure your place now.”
Matt Newman, Chief Executive at event organiser Run 4 Wales, added: “Tŷ Hafan are a fantastic charity that help so many families in their darkest hours. The fact that Heidi is pushing herself to take on the Cardiff Half in Matthew’s memory is fantastic and we’re looking forward to cheering her around the course.”
