Despite his consultant’s grim assessment, medication and regular check-ups helped Rhys defy their prognosis.
He lived a relatively normal life, playing rugby and football in his childhood, before passing his GCSEs and starting work.
But in 2011 he started feeling weak and tired, looked pale and suffering from dizziness, headaches and regular chest infections.
Then, at the age of 25, he was told he would need a heart transplant.
“This was a huge shock. I had grown up knowing that a transplant was the only ‘solution’ for my heart condition but as a family, we never spoke about it,” he added.
“We didn’t think it would really happen. I remember sobbing in my bed, thinking that this shouldn’t be happening to a 25-year-old.”
He underwent his first heart transplant in October 2011, but just five months later, narrowing was discovered in his arteries.
Rhys still did not slow down and eight weeks after having three stents fitted he was climbing Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon.