DAD'S 1,000-MILE WALK RAISING CASH FOR HEART CHECKS
A father-of-two whose wife died suddenly has been doing a 1,000-mile walk to raise money to provide free heart checks.
Karl Lansley's wife, Carli, died in her sleep aged 36 from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS).
Mr Lansley, from Southend, Essex, has set up the Carli Lansley Foundation, which aims cover the cost of providing electrocardiogram (ECG) tests for young people in the city.
He began his long-distance walk in May and is hoping to finish on 24 July, on what would have been the couple's 20th wedding anniversary.
The route has taken Mr Lansley to London, through Kent, along the coast to Brighton and Portsmouth and up to Milton Keynes.
He then walks on to Norfolk, before heading back down the coast and inland to Cambridge, and then back to the finish in Southend.
Mr Lansley has been doing the walk in stages, returning home to be with his children, Ethan and Jess, in between.
So far, he has raised about £10,000. His target is £52,000.
Along the way, he decided to spread some of his wife's ashes.
Mr Lansley added: "Carli's ashes have been in our house since the date of her funeral and, prior to this year, the kids and I had never fully decided what, if anything, to do with them.
"Then, about six months ago, we decided that we would spread a tiny bit of her ashes whenever we visited new places.
"It would almost make us feel like we had visited as a family."
Since it was set up, the foundation has helped 1,600 people aged 14-35 get ECG checks.
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2024-07-01T05:51:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd