Early Christmas brings joy to Wendy at Tŷ Bryngwyn Hospice
18 December 2025
The family of a seriously ill patient being cared for at Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Tŷ Bryngwyn Hospice has thanked staff for giving her the opportunity to share a magical early Christmas celebration with her family and friends.
Christmas has always been a special time for Wendy Jones, a retired teacher from Llandybie who is being given palliative care at the Llanelli hospice at Prince Philip Hospital.
A special Christmas party had been planned for Wendy on 6 December when Christmas decorations are put up to give Tŷ Bryngwyn a festive feel for those being cared for and their family and friends.
Sadly, Wendy’s health deteriorated but Tŷ Bryngwyn staff were determined that Wendy wouldn’t miss out on her favourite time of year and pulled out all the stops to bring her party forward, not once but twice.
“The party was originally planned for 6 December, but we brought it forward to 30 November, and then again to 27 November when Wendy’s condition changed,” explained David Gravell, Senior Charge Nurse and Team Leader at Tŷ Bryngwyn. “We contacted the Estates Team, who immediately agreed to help. They ensured the Christmas tree was up in time and even placed trees in the hospice garden to create a festive atmosphere.”
The kitchen team at Prince Philip Hospital also stepped in, preparing a buffet at short notice, while volunteers rallied to support staff and ensure the celebration ran smoothly.
David added. “Our patients are palliative, but we always try to focus on the positives and give them opportunities to enjoy life’s special moments. For Wendy, that meant creating a Christmas experience as close as possible to what she would have had at home.”
The result was a beautiful gathering where Wendy could open presents, share laughter, and spend time with those closest to her.
“It was a real team effort and I would like to thank everybody who managed to pull together this special Christmas party for Wendy,” said David.
David is not the only one who wants to thank the team at Prince Philip Hospital and Tŷ Bryngwyn. Wendy and her partner Trevor Till and daughters Gemma Davies, Ruth Jones and son Simon Jones are incredibly grateful that Wendy was able to celebrate Christmas together with them.
Wendy said: “Christmas has always been a time that has meant a lot to us as a family. All my family came - my sister and mother came from Leicester. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate as a family.”
Wendy’s partner Trevor said: “Christmas and family are so important to Wendy and the staff here realised this and they just accommodated everything. It was a real team effort.
“But it’s not just the Christmas party – Wendy has been at Tŷ Bryngwyn since the beginning of September and the whole team have been brilliant. The Christmas event is an indicator of that and of how far they’ll go to care for patients.”
Gemma, Wendy’s daughter said: “Mum has always loved Christmas and the party was giving her a goal to aim for, so it was really upsetting that we kept having to move it forward because she was so unwell.
“It came as a shock as we had to tell the family and things were changing so quickly. But the team at Prince Philip and Tŷ Bryngwyn brought the Christmas tree in a week early to make sure it was there for Mum to make it the full Christmas experience that it needed to be.
“That was our Christmas Day, having everybody together as we would have been in a few weeks, so that was nice. It was brilliant that we did manage it and we had something that we were very lucky to have.”
Gemma will be raising funds for Tŷ Bryngwyn and has a musical event planned for early next year.
Sharon Daniel, Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience said: “I am so happy to hear that our teams at Tŷ Bryngwyn and Prince Philip Hospital were able to work together to organise an early Christmas party for Wendy and her family. Thank you to the estates and catering teams along with the staff at Tŷ Bryngwyn for giving Wendy and her family such a special day.”
ENDS
FAMILY TIME: Picture shows Wendy with her daughter Ruth who is admiring her mum’s Christmas-themed nails done for her by a student nurse at the hospice. Also pictured are Wendy’s son Simon and his partner Mich.