Rowing on to remember tragic Shrewsbury woman, 21
Family and friends of a 21-year-old Shrewsbury woman who died following complications after a heart transplant have completed a sponsored row down the River Severn to raise funds for the hospital that treated her.
Jenna Byrne died in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham on May 16, just a month after celebrating her 21st birthday and getting engaged.
The beautician, from Bicton, had an underlying heart condition which was only discovered later in life and required a heart transplant.
A group of about 40 people rowed down the River Severn from Royal Hill in Edgerley, Oswestry, to Wingfield Arms in Montford Bridge, on Sunday to raise funds for the critical care unit D where Jenna was treated.
A new charity is now being set up in Jenna's memory called The Jenna Byrne Jar of Hearts Foundation.
Jenna's brother Alex Byrne, 26, said he wants to raise awareness of the work the unit does so that more people will donate to it.
The supervisor at SHB Vehicle Hire said: "Jenna had a heart transplant in May as she had a heart condition we believe from birth that we only knew about in the last few years.
"A week after her 21st birthday and getting engaged she went into hospital and the transplant went well but she developed sepsis when they tried to take her off the machinery.
"The nurses and the staff were brilliant and that's why we want to raise money for the specific unit."
Alex said Jenna had "an infectious smile".
"Jenna was the best, she was one of a kind," he said.
"She had an infectious smile and everyone used to look out for her.
"We want to raise as much as we can by doing a number of events, it would be great if our first target could be raising £10,000.
"That would be a sum that we could be really proud of and we could present it to the unit then.
"The Jenna Byrne Jar of Hearts Foundation is in the process of being set up as a registered charity."
For more information about the charity see The Jenna Byrne Jar of Hearts Foundation on Facebook.
