My cousin and his wife have a beautiful boy, Dewi Wickham, born on the 7th August 2024 - one day after his due date. He was born not responsive and required resuscitation. He was diagnosed with severe Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) - a type of brain injury that occurs when the brain experiences a decrease in oxygen or blood flow.

Dewi underwent therapeutic cooling and warming at the Neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) in the Grange University Hospital. He did not appear to respond well to this treatment and his ultimate prognosis was that once ventilation was removed he would sadly pass. This was devastating for our family and telling our young girls that their baby brother, who they had been so excited to meet, was heartbreaking.

Jemma and Lou from Ty Hafan came to visit us on the NICU ward to explain what support they could offer us as a family. Once Dewi’s prognosis became apparent the option of a transfer to Ty Hafan Hospice was offered and we decided that we would like Dewi to pass outside of a hospital environment where we hoped we could spend some time with him. Everything about Ty Hafan was incredible - the setting, the staff and their support for us and the girls, the food, the facilities. It was the perfect place for the situation. It was a place of peace, happiness at seeing our girls get to make memories with their baby brother and a true haven.

Dewi, thankfully, didn’t get the memo. Much to the doctor’s surprise he was able to breathe. He continued to breathe for 9 days until the doctors wanted him back - clearly wanting to live. He returned to NICU and took his second ambulance trip. More tests and more hospital visits will happen.

The future feels very uncertain but we will now take Dewi home. We won’t know how much the damage to his brain will affect his life, or our family. But we know that Ty Hafan will be there by our side through all of it. Their support has made an unbearable situation that bit easier and thank you will never be enough.

We were one of the lucky ones. Ty Hafan are only able to reach a small portion of the families that need their support.