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Brave Crash Victim Raises £6k For Ambulance Charity

 

A courageous mum whose husband died in a motorway crash has presented a cheque to the South Western Ambulance Charity after raising thousands of pounds in his memory.

Ceri and Rod Walsh, from Cheddar in Somerset, were involved in a multi-vehicle collision on the M5 near Taunton in September 2018.

Ceri sustained serious injuries in the crash, and doctors feared she would not be able to walk again.

But a year later Ceri defied expectations to complete a 10km run with their children Thomas, 14, and Carys, 11, and many other family members and friends.

Ceri handed-over the cheque for £6,387.75 to South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) staff on behalf of the charity at Taunton Ambulance Station. We would like to thank them all for their incredible fundraising. 

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She said she was “blown away” by the amount raised.

Ceri said:  “I’ve been through a rollercoaster of emotions during the past year. But once I realised I was going to survive, I wanted to do something for the people who responded to the incident.

The ambulance service deals with incidents that no human being would want to witness. They work professionally to maintain life at the worst possible time. Without the ambulance service my two wonderful children would be living without their mum.”

Two of Ceri’s colleagues also raised more than £2,500 from a skydive in March.

Zoe Larter, head of South Western Ambulance Charity, said: “We are so grateful to Ceri, her family, friends and colleagues for their incredible fundraising for the South Western Ambulance Charity.

Alongside the generous donations, I’ve been honoured to read some of the heart-warming messages from Ceri’s supporters on her fundraising page.

To raise a total of almost £9,000 for the charity is a fantastic legacy to her husband, Rod, and a real testament to how loved Ceri and her family are. They are such an inspiration to us all.”

The family described Rod as a "gentle fun-loving family man" who was "loved dearly". They praised his "laughter, love of life, kindness and loyalty".

Rod was a committed member of the parish church in Cheddar, and had been an NHS worker for almost 40 years.

 

Ceri has worked as a NHS nurse for more than 30 years.

South Western Ambulance Charity uses gifted monies to benefit those in our communities who use our service, and to improve the welfare of SWASFT staff and volunteers.

 

At Ceri’s request, the funds she raised will be used specifically to support the staff of ambulance stations in Somerset.

 

Zoe added: “Every donation to the South Western Ambulance Service Charity makes such a difference, and stories like this one show the impact that SWASFT and the NHS has on our communities.”

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