A GP has run her first Cardiff Half Marathon in aid of Wales Air Ambulance after the lifesaving service came to the aid of her colleague.
54-year-old Maria Cronje works at North Cornelly Surgery along with Practice Manager Matthew Haynes.
The pair of them regularly do parkruns, with Matthew ‘always ahead of the pack’. But back in June 2023, Maria knew something was wrong when she spotted him dropping out.
She said: “Matt is always faster than me, but I could see him walking back in the direction of his car, like he was in discomfort.
“I called out to him, and he said he was ok, so I continued the run. I always stop off for a coffee at the pavilion and noticed a call on my phone.
“I realised it was Matt ringing and answered. He said he was experiencing chest pains, and had called for an ambulance, then decided to cancel it as he thought it was a panic attack.”
Maria says ‘the red lights were flashing’ at this stage and she knew this was not right for Matt. She called her husband who is a paramedic and had just done a night shift and asked him to meet her at his house and rang a practice nurse friend who had access to a defibrillator.
She said: “When we got there Matt was on the floor clutching his chest in the throes of
having a heart attack. By this point he had run 999 again and an ambulance was on its way.
“He suffered three cardiac arrests, that was terrifying to witness. Thankfully my husband was able to help resuscitate him and do CPR.
“The road ambulance and air ambulance crew arrived quite quickly and were able to take over and give him the critical care he needed.”
Due to Matthew’s serious condition, he was transported to hospital by road ambulance, with clinicians from Wales Air Ambulance accompanying him to Morriston Hospital in Swansea where he underwent surgery to have stents fitted.
The Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency critical care.
Maria who qualified thirty years ago and has been a General Practitioner for 24 years says, ‘it’s a miracle that Matt made it’, and ‘even more extraordinary’ that he was able to return to running within months.
She said: “I would call him up and pop in from time to time when he was recovering to cheer him up.
“We would talk about him returning to running and doing a fundraiser for Wales Air Ambulance. But in the back of our minds, we never really knew if that would be possible.”
The mum of four continued: “As a family we have always been aware of the level care the service is able to provide and how many lives it saves each year.
“Matt is the first person in our friendship group who has needed the service, and it really is invaluable, I don’t know what would have happened if it would have been attending another patient.
“We are just so grateful that they were able to come to his aid and our way of saying thank you, is to fundraise for the Charity.”
Both Maria and Matt took part in the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday, 5 October 2025.
She said: “There was such an incredible atmosphere on the day, the crowd was electric, and people were calling out our name, because we had it on our running tops.
“The camaraderie was just brilliant, and I have already put my name down for next year’s half marathon.”
Amanda Rosenberg, Regional Fundraising Manager for South East Wales said: “It’s wonderful that Maria and Matt chose to do the Cardiff Half Marathon in aid of Wales Air Ambulance, after such a traumatic time.
“Matt was so fortunate that Maria came to his aid, and thankfully he had the foresight to call 999 ensuring he had a road ambulance and air ambulance response when it counted.
“It is always so moving when someone has been so critically unwell, to see them fully recovered and then choosing to fundraise for our lifesaving service.
“We are hugely grateful to Maria for supporting Matt by fundraising for his chosen Charity. Every pound raised will help save more lives across Wales.”
