Tragic groom-to-be died days after couple sent out wedding invitations
Invitations for the big day were sent out to friends and family in March. But within days he had become seriously ill and then passed away suddenly on March 17 this year. He was only 36.
The news devastated all who knew Robyn. When best man Ben Brame called groomsman Glyn Owen, Glyn was expecting it to be about the stag do they were planning. Instead it was to tell him the sad news, which left Glyn "crushed".
Now in the week when they were expecting to be performing their duties ahead of the wedding they will instead walk the entire 130-miles of the Anglesey Coastal Path over nine days.
They are raising money for Diamond Blackfan Anaemia Support Group UK. Robyn was born with the extremely rare blood condition, Diamond Blackfan Anaemia, where the bone marrow doesn't produce enough red blood cells. It only affects approximately 7 out of every million live births.
On a monthly basis throughout his life, Robyn, originally from Valley on Anglesey and later Penrhyn Bay near Llandudno, would spend long periods in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, receiving treatment for the condition.
Such was Robyn's appreciation for the care that he received, in 2018 he decided to dedicate his life to helping others by training to become a nurse, working in both Ysbyty Gwynedd and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd over seven years, going on to nurse on the haematology and oncology ward until the end of his life.
Having grown up receiving regular hospital care and later working as a nurse, many messages on social media responding to the sad news were from members of hospital staff, who Robyn had come into contact with over the years, expressing how much of a lovely character he was.
Glyn, 36, originally from Bangor, a refugee services caseworker for British Red Cross in Cardiff, said: 'It was so sad when we received the news about Rob, as we had all just received the wedding invitation in the post the same day or a couple of days before. When Ben called me, I thought it was to discuss the stag-do, and it was the same for all of his other friends. To go from a moment of excitement like that to finding out the news, was crushing.
'We wanted to do something to honour and commemorate Rob, who was a really incredible person. In terms of his health, he had quite a difficult life, but he never let it affect him; quite the opposite, he had such an appetite for life and really understood the importance of grabbing it with both hands.
"We especially wanted to do the event when the wedding was supposed to take place, as it should have been a moment of celebration for him, his family and his friends.
'We want to bring together as many people as we can to celebrate Rob's life so we are inviting anyone who knows him to get involved; whether it's joining us for the whole walk or just for a coffee at a cafe along the way.
'We decided to do the walk around Anglesey because of the fantastic times we shared with Rob here, and it's where he's from. We have so many great memories of adventures, parties, camping, beaches and so on. I have many memories of him swimming in the sea at various places around the island, swimming far out from the shore; I think he loved the freedom and the exhilaration of it.'
The walk will also have special significance as the friends intend to mark 14 years since the death of Robyn's best friend, Lewis Darroch, who lost his life on 24 August 2011 near Porth Trecastell (Cable Bay) on Anglesey, while trying to rescue a drowning friend. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Glyn added: 'When Lewis died it obviously had a huge impact on all his friends, but particularly so on Rob, as they were best friends since childhood. I remember vividly that it was Rob who contacted me to tell me the news about Lewis, and then to receive the news about Rob out of the blue like that too, was devastating. So it's fitting that 14 years nearly to the day, our route will bring us to the place where someone who Robyn loved so dearly died while performing a heroic act of friendship."
Ben and Glyn are inviting as many people as possible to join in whatever way they would like during the nine day event. This could be walking the stunning Coastal Path with them, swimming and BBQs on beautiful beaches, or a beer or two at the local pubs along the route.
The friends also intend to complete parts of the walk in superhero fancy dress in tribute to Robyn's love of comic books, which he would read during the long periods of treatment in hospital as a child.
Ben Brame, 34, a watersports instructor and electrician from Y Felinheli, said: 'Look out for Spiderman and Thor rambling through the streets of Beaumaris or Amlwch in August, and please consider donating.'
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