‘I just didn’t want another family to fall apart like we had’
Bereavement charity after death of baby and husband’s suicide just days apart
Rhian Mannings has endured more loss and grief in one week than anyone should ever have to face in a lifetime.
Nine years ago, on February 22, her one-year-old son George suffered a seizure. An ambulance rushed him to Royal Glamorgan Hospital in South Wales, where Rhian and her husband Paul watched helplessly as medical staff desperately tried to save their baby boy’s life. But there was nothing they could do. Two hours later George had passed away.
“George was amazing,” says Rhian, 43. “He was happy, always smiling, easy going and he just completed the family. We never expected him to die.”
Paul and Rhian returned home to their two other children, Holly and died at the age of one sense of what had happened to their perfect family. “That weekend we talked about it non-stop,” says Rhian. “We told each other we loved each other and that we would have a good life in honour of George. Things were tough but we were closer than ever.”
Then five days after George’s death Paul got in his car and drove away. He would never come home. Rhian didn’t discover he had taken his own life until two police officers arrived at her house later that day.
COMPLETE SHOCK
“I didn’t cry for months. I was in complete shock,” says Rhian. “My body completely shut down. It took years to accept it had happened.”
With her husband gone, Rhian had to wait a further four months to learn George had been ill with pneumonia and influenza. The news brought her some comfort as it confirmed there was nothing anyone could have done to save him.
Despite her pain, Rhian had a need to do something for the hospital where George had died as she felt it hadn’t been equipped to support parents who had lost children. So she set up 2 Wish Upon a Star.
The charity, which receives National Lottery funding, supports families when they suffer the sudden death of a child or young
Keeping George and Paul’s memories alive is a comfort RHIAN MANNINGS 2 WISH UPON A STAR
another family to fall apart like we had,” says Rhian, a former PE teacher.
Her determination has taken her on an incredible journey. The charity, which has supported over 890 bereaved families, pivoted much of its National Lottery funding during lockdown to move its counselling events such as quizzes and bingo. It has also been able to recruit two members of staff to help families in North Wales. “We can’t thank them enough,” says Rhian. “It has changed lives – and all because of National Lottery players.”
The charity provides counselling and play therapy to support bereaved parents and children. It also helps fathers, who are often slower to engage. “We have a rugby team and football team and have organised paintball socials,” reveals Rhian. “Often it’s just enough for these dads to know they’re with someone who really understands just what they’ve been through. I once got a letter from a dad also asking me not to be angry with Paul and that he’d be so proud of everything I’ve achieved. That meant so much to me.”
Rhian has kept moving forward with her life and lives in Miskin near Cardiff, with Holly, 13, and Isaac, 12, and her new husband Craig, who are all deeply involved with the charity.
In the past year, National Lottery players have raised £1billion to help people across the UK during these unprecedented times, and 2 Wish Upon a Star is just one of thousands of projects supported.
“It has been a massive comfort to keep George and Paul’s memories alive,” says Rhian. “I’ve met the most amazing people who have thanked me for helping them – but they’ve helped me too.”
KEY players in a crossborder drug gang have been arrested and accused of trafficking heroin and producing amphetamine worth millions of pounds.
The arrests follow a National Crime Agency operation across Glasgow and Merseyside as part of Operation Venetic .
A man, 47, was arrested in Dumbarton while another lifted in prison. Six other men were arrested in the Merseyside area.
The men were snared after police intercepted messages on the encrypted phone messaging platform EncroChat – a system used by criminals to hide their activities.
During the operation, cops said they believe the men were planning to produce large quantities of amphetamine at a location in Scotland, as well as trafficking heroin from Scotland to Merseyside.
The group, aged between 34 and 66, remain in custody.
Ian McConnell, NCA operations manager, said: “Producing amphetamine on an industrial scale would have devastating consequences for the community.
“Today’s action has led to the arrest of eight suspected members of an organised crime group and will continue to target those at the top of the drug market chain, to make their businesses unviable and keep people safe.”