Groomsmen's tribute after nurse dies before wedding

Robyn Parry had been due to marry his fiancée and fellow nurse, Bryony, last week, before his health took a turn for the worse

The groomsmen of a nurse who died before his wedding have completed a special challenge in his memory.

Since birth Robyn Parry had lived with Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA) - a rare blood disorder thought to affect only 350 people in the UK - and needed frequent treatment at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, Gwynedd.

But shortly after sending out invites for his August wedding to fiancée and fellow nurse Bryony, Robyn became seriously ill and died suddenly in March aged 36.

On Sunday Ben Brame and Glyn Owen completed a nine-day, 130-mile (209km) walk around Robyn's home island of Anglesey, raising thousands for charity at a time where they expected to be performing best man and groomsmen duties.

Robyn, who grew up in Valley on Anglesey, decided to enter nursing as an appreciation for the care he received from a young age.

He worked at both Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan from 2018, going on to nurse on the haematology and oncology ward until the end of his life.

Robyn and Bryony met at work and were due to get married on 21 August, but he died suddenly on 17 March after his health took a turn for the worse.

Glyn, who described Robyn as "an amazing person", said the news of his friend's death had been "crushing", but felt that marking what should have been the week of his wedding "felt like the right thing to do".

Funds raised will go to the Diamond Blackfan Anaemia Support Group UK.

"This week should have been a time for family and friends to come together," Glyn said, adding that Robyn's family had been "very supportive" of their efforts.

"By raising money for charity too, we want to turn something quite sad and negative into something possibly positive if we can."

Glyn Owen, who was set to be one of Robyn's groomsmen, completed the 130-mile (209km) challenge

People diagnosed with DBA cannot produce enough red blood cells, and require regular blood transfusions.

The rare condition affects about 700 people in the world.

"On a monthly basis he'd have to go to the hospital to get transfusions, and as he got older he was having to go every three weeks," Glyn, a refugee services caseworker with the British Red Cross in Cardiff, said.

Glyn and Ben wanted to visit some spots on the island that were special to Robyn

"Everybody was looking forward to his wedding, we'd met up in Llandudno a little under a year ago when he'd asked me and Ben to be his groomsmen and both he and Bryony were so excited.

"They were doing a lot of planning and putting a lot of effort in, we were making preparations for the stag do when Ben called me.

"I was expecting it to be about the stag do only to hear the news, which was obviously horrible for everybody."

Some of Robyn's hospital colleagues joined parts of the walk wearing specially made t-shirts

While the walk was designed to raise money for charity, those taking part were also keen to raise awareness of Robyn's condition.

"Robyn got on with it, he was always really adventurous," added Glyn.

"I think that having that serious health condition gives you a different outlook on life... he was always really keen to take life by the horns.

"He was a really thoughtful person, which is demonstrated by the work he ended up doing as an NHS nurse... he felt it was really important to give back and that just shows his character."

Nurse Catrin Elin was one of Robyn's former colleagues who joined the walk around the island

Glyn, however, is adamant that Robyn "would have thought they were stupid" for carrying out the challenge.

"He'd have probably joined us by following in the car," Glyn joked.

"Rob wasn't a huge fan of walking and definitely liked the finer things in life, but he'd have loved what we were doing, 'I'll see you later at the pub' most probably.

"But its more about people coming together to commemorate him, and do something to really honour his memory. Revisiting places where we had special memories of him."

'So good to his patients'

While Glyn and Ben completed the entire Anglesey Coastal Path, they also had some company along the way, including some of Robyn's colleagues.

Among those who joined during one of the legs in the north of the island was nurse Catrin Elin, a colleague of Robyn's at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd's Enfys Ward.

"He was such a beautiful, kind and caring person and a pleasure to have known and worked with," she said, adding Robyn was "so good to his patients".

"He always gave 100%, he never let [his illness] phase him and you'd never think he was any different."

Ben Brame was set to be Robyn's best man

The fact that so many people had turned up to support the group, "summed up Rob" according to Ben.

"I think he'd be very shocked to see so many people... I definitely have been, so much support and so many kinds words.

"Its been amazing."