A MENTAL health nurse from Pembrokeshire has opened up about two life-changing calls to Samaritans, as she prepares to take on a 26-mile challenge across the Preseli Hills to raise funds for the charity.

Her first encounter with the Samaritans came in 2013, when she was struggling with postnatal depression. At the time, she said she desperately needed someone to talk to.

“I just needed someone to listen while I cried about how hard everything felt,” she recalled. “The response was lovely – non-judgemental, warm and caring.”

Though it was a one-off phone call, the experience stayed with her, made all the more memorable by the unexpected discovery that the volunteer she spoke to was based in her own local town.

Years passed before she reached out again. But in October 2025, during what she describes as one of the most overwhelming periods of her life, she found herself turning back to the charity.

“My whole world felt like it was crashing down,” she said. “I was exhausted, and my thoughts didn’t feel like my own anymore. I knew what I was going through was temporary, but my mind was offering permanent solutions.”

At a breaking point, she made the call.

Her plea for help was answered by a volunteer named Tony, whose calm presence proved pivotal. “He could hear the panic and fear in my voice and stayed with me while I got myself to a safe place,” she said.

The call was unexpectedly cut short when the signal dropped out as she made her way back to her car—but the impact lingered.

“That moment changed everything,” she said. “It was a turning point. It gave me the courage to open up to my friends and my employer about what I was going through.”

As a mental health professional, she admits that asking for help did not come easily.

“I’m a very private person, and working as a mental health nurse can sometimes make it harder to reach out through traditional avenues,” she explained. “But even for those of us in the profession, there are times when we need somewhere to turn.”

Now, with time and distance from that difficult period, she feels ready to share her story publicly in the hope of helping others.

To give back, she is planning a 26-mile sponsored walk across the Preseli Hills, retracing a deeply personal route. The walk will take in Carningli – a place where she once felt “on top of the world”—and Rosebush, where the pivotal phone call took place.

“Walking has become incredibly cathartic for me,” she said. “Spending time in the Preselis has helped me process so many thoughts and feelings. It’s brought a real sense of peace.”

While she acknowledges the emotional challenge of revisiting those locations, she feels stronger now.

“I have a support network and a life I’ve been able to rebuild – thanks, in part, to that one phone call.”

The Samaritans, which operates a 24-hour helpline, responds to a call for help every 10 seconds. The service is free and available year-round, offering confidential, non-judgemental support to anyone in need.

Through her fundraising effort, she hopes to raise awareness as well as vital funds – while reminding others that help is always within reach.

HYWEL DDA Health Charities, the official charity of Hywel Dda University Health Board, is calling on local communities to help them provide comfort and support to families who have lost a child.

The charity is running a campaign this spring to highlight its Wish Fund which provides support to families during times of bereavement.

The Wish Fund supports Hywel Dda’s Paediatric Palliative Care team to provide personalised support to families of children and young people receiving palliative care, and helps them create treasured memories when their child sadly passes away. From hand moulds and fingerprint jewellery to memory boxes and specialist sibling support, the fund ensures bereaved families are not alone during the most devastating moments of their lives.

Frankie’s parents Phil and Veronica shared how the Wish Fund helped them during their darkest days:

“We had the absolute pleasure of looking after the most beautiful, awesome, wonderful, loving and brave little lad who was very poorly in the last years of his life.

“We met his Paediatric Palliative Care team two years before his passing and boy what an awesome team they are.

“We will never be able to thank the Wish Fund enough. Thanks to the Wish Fund, we had the most amazing mementos, a Christmas bauble, a necklace with Frankie’s fingerprint on it and a mould of his hand. Those simple objects are our most treasured possessions along with a lock of his beautiful hair.”

The Wish Fund relies on charitable donations, and every contribution can have a lasting impact:

• £15 provides a teddy for a bereaved sibling
• £30 funds a sibling support session
• £50 creates a hand mould keepsake
• £70 provides a Memory Box
• £85 funds bespoke hand‑printed jewellery

These meaningful items offer comfort to parents, carers and siblings who are navigating unimaginable loss.

Rebecca McDonald, Clinical Nurse Specialist – Paediatric Palliative Care, said: “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated and continues to donate to the Wish Fund.

“Thanks to your kindness and generosity, we have been able to provide meaningful memory-making items and bereavement materials. These resources make an immeasurable difference in helping us support our families through the most difficult time.

“Your compassion and support truly help us bring comfort, dignity, and lasting memories to the families we care for. Thank you for your support in helping us make a big difference to families we support across our health board.”

To find out more or to donate to the Wish Fund, please visit: https://hywelddahealthcharities.nhs.wales/campaigns/the-wish-fund/ 

Supporters in Pembrokeshire and beyond rally to keep animal sanctuary open to urgent new cases

GREENACRES RESCUE has been pulled back from the brink after an overwhelming public response cleared a £24,000 vet bill that had left the Pembrokeshire animal sanctuary facing the prospect of shutting its doors to new intakes.

The Talbenny-based rescue had warned it was at breaking point after receiving a March veterinary bill of £24,113.92, saying it could be forced to stop taking in emergency cases unless the money was raised by the end of the month.

The stark appeal triggered an immediate wave of support, with donations pouring in from Pembrokeshire and beyond.

Within the first 24 hours, Greenacres said it had raised £12,759, taking the charity more than halfway to its target. By Wednesday, the full amount had been reached.

In a message thanking supporters, the Greenacres team said: “Because of you our doors stay open.

“We hit our target for the vet bill and we are absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude.

“The support we’ve received has been nothing short of incredible, and thanks to every single one of you, our doors can stay open to help as many animals as we physically can.”

The rescue had warned that failing to clear the bill would have devastating consequences, with new emergency calls potentially having to be turned away.

Mikey Lawlor said last week that March had been the toughest month the charity had faced, despite more than £43,000 already being raised and paid off earlier this year.

He said the number of animals needing urgent help had reached an all-time high, pushing the rescue to the brink.

While Greenacres stressed it would always honour commitments to animals already in its care, it warned that being forced to close to new intake could leave other animals without a lifeline.

In its thank-you message, the charity said the successful appeal meant it could continue helping “animals who feel forgotten” and those with nowhere else to turn.

The rescue also highlighted the case of Venus, a Doberman taken in last week after spending time in council pound kennels.

Greenacres said Venus had faced an uncertain and heartbreaking future after going unclaimed, and had arrived too frightened to show her true character. Staff said she has already begun to relax and reveal herself as a gentle dog.

“Dogs like Venus are the reason we exist,” the team said.

As well as direct donations, Greenacres is continuing to ask supporters to help through its Amazon wish list, which provides food and other essentials for the animals in its care.

The charity, which has been rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming neglected and unwanted animals since 2008, cares for dogs, cats, horses, reptiles and other small animals across Pembrokeshire.