Wrexham woman to walk two marathons in two days for late husband’s hospice

A Wrexham woman is set to walk the equivalent of two marathons in two days to help raise funds for the hospice that cared for her late husband.

Bethan Scott, whose husband Dave passed away in 2017 aged just 53, has made it her mission to support Wrexham-based Nightingale House Hospice to say thank you for its work.

She has already raised well over £150,000 in Dave’s memory, having walked the Great Wall of China, cycled from Vietnam to Cambodia, trekked Machu Picchu in Peru and even climbed Mt Kilimanjaro.

So far this year Bethan has climbed Mt Toubkal in Morocco, the highest peak in North Africa, trekked the Yorkshire Three Peaks and completed a 26 mile one day trek in the Lake District.

Later this year in November, Bethan and 10 friends are heading out to Nepal to trek to Everest Base Camp.

Since Dave’s death in 2017, on the anniversary of his passing, Bethan, along with members of her family and close friends of Dave (known to everyone as DRS) have gathered together for a local walk in Dave’s memory.

To mark seven years since Dave’s death, Bethan and her friends will push the boundaries further by walking from Llandudno to Nightingale House in Wrexham on August 10 and 11.

That’s two marathons in two days and a little bit extra – 55 miles to be precise!

Dave passed away on August 12, 2017 after being diagnosed with cancer in 2016.

He was born in Scotland and left school at 16 to join the Merchant Navy, travelling the world before he joined Scottish Power where he met Bethan.

Bethan said Nightingale House became a lifeline for Dave and his family.

“Dave spent time at an incredibly special place – Nightingale House Hospice in the heart of Wrexham,” said Bethan.

“A hub for the community of Wrexham and a place where staff work tirelessly by focussing on the patient and their family – but they can only do this with our support.

Despite a courageous journey through chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Dave became paralysed and started using the hydrotherapy pool at the hospice.

Prior to his diagnosis Dave had been super-fit. But at the hospice Dave used the hydrotherapy pool which helped him to feel active and gave him that feeling of movement, he then became confident enough to use the day care facilities there.

On a tour of the hospice following the recent refurbishment of its In-patient facility, Bethan commented how lovely it was to see the hydrotherapy pool open once again.

The running costs for the hydrotherapy pool are a significant part of the overall fundraising challenge that the hospice has to meet every year.

Knowing how much the hydrotherapy pool helped Dave. Bethan wants Dave’s anniversary walk this year to raise money specifically to help with those costs.

“The day Dave passed away, I had a decision to make – to either stand still or move forward,” explained Bethan.

“The hospice supported Dave and I through an extremely challenging time.

“I have made it my mission to fundraise for the hospice ever since. Every year I organise a walk in Dave’s memory on the Sunday closest to the anniversary of his passing, 12 August.

“Over the years the number of people has increased, which I believe is testament to the love we shared for Dave and the support for the hospice.

“I always say life can change in an instant. Some good must come out of the loss of an amazing man. I believe we met for a reason and now I can help a cause that helped Dave.”

ason Brogden, a friend of DRS and a former business associate said: “It’s been so lovely to follow Bethan’s fundraising for the hospice and the feeds on social media are a trigger for so many happy memories (DRS is often mentioned over a pint and sorely missed).

“Supporting the hospice reminds us of how amazingly DRS was looked after and how important it was for both him and Bethan.”

You can support Bethan’s fundraising walk in memory of her late husband Dave, here.