25-04-2025
Powys worker raises £2,600 for children's brain cancer fund
A marketing manager is training for a 177-mile charity walk.
Chris Butler, who works for Radnor Hills, is preparing to walk the length of Offa's Dyke over the course of six days.
The award-winning Powys-based soft drinks producer employee is hoping to raise money for Abbie's Army, a brain cancer charity which funds medical research to give hope to families.
Abbie Mifsud was only six years old when she died from diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an inoperable and incurable cancer in the brainstem.
DIPG is a highly aggressive form of cancer that primarily affects children under the age of 11 and currently has no effective treatment options.
Abbie passed away in 2011, just five months after being diagnosed.
Mr Butler,35, will set off from Prestatyn on the North Wales coast on Tuesday, April 29, and is expecting to arrive in the south at Sedbury Cliffs on the Severn Estuary on Sunday.
He said, "The average survival time from diagnosis for a child with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma remains staggeringly low at just 9-12 months, and heartbreaking,gly families are forced to watch as their child loses their vital functions and abilities before their eyes.
"Abbie's Army is an amazing charity that raises funds to support crucial research into this cruel disease and supports families going through this horrific, life-changing ordeal.
"I'm a lucky father to my three-year-old son Arthur, and I've been following the stories of families affected by DIPG for a while.
"I can't imagine the suffering such young children that are affected have to go through and the distress this causes their loved ones.
"Inspired by the stories on @abbies_army's page, I decided to take on this challenge to raise money.
"I've been training for it since November with lots of 28 mile plus walks in mid Wales."
Mr Butler has already raised more than £2,600 for the charity.
