Anglesey five-year-old featured on 30,000 charity envelopes as hospice launches £75,000 fundraising drive
A FIVE-YEAR-OLD-BOY boy from Anglesey who has spent much of his young life fighting serious health challenges is now the face of a major summer fundraising campaign for Tŷ Gobaith children’s hospice.
Callum Roberts, from Amlwch, will feature on the front of 30,000 appeal envelopes arriving through letterboxes this week, as the charity aims to raise £75,000 through donations and its summer raffle.
Callum’s mum, Carrie Roberts, has shared the family’s heartbreaking and emotional journey as part of the campaign, describing her son as her “brave little lion”.
Callum and his twin brother Tyler were born prematurely at just 29 weeks. Tragically, Tyler was stillborn, and Callum was diagnosed with a serious heart condition, leaving Carrie and her partner Gavin fearing they would lose him too.
“We’d already lost Tyler and we didn’t think Callum was coming home from hospital,” Carrie said. “It was just a horrible situation for me and Gavin to be in.”
The couple were introduced to a neonatal nurse from Tŷ Gobaith while Callum was still in hospital, and were told about the support the hospice could provide, including respite care and symptom management.
But Carrie admits she struggled with the idea at first.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to think about needing Tŷ Gobaith,” she said. “I had fought for Callum to be born, and I just couldn’t stop thinking that a hospice was only a place for the end.
“I wasn’t ready for that. I would just cry thinking about it.”
For a time, Carrie tried to cope alone, caring for Callum around the clock while Gavin worked to support the family.
“So, for a while, I thought I could do it all on my own. I couldn’t,” she said. “You can’t go on forever without help. I was at breaking point and I literally couldn’t cope.”
It was only after attending a local wellbeing event that Carrie came across Tŷ Gobaith again, where community nurse Nia was promoting the services available for families.
“That meeting with Nia changed everything,” Carrie said. “She put me at ease and told me what Tŷ Gobaith was all about. She understood everything.
“It was only then I knew I would be able to let Callum go for respite care.”
Callum, who lives at home with Carrie and his sisters Keira and Chloe, began visiting the hospice two years ago. Carrie admits the first stay was daunting, and she called staff hourly to check on her son.
But the reassurance and support from nurses soon helped her trust the team.
“Callum is five years old now and has been visiting Tŷ Gobaith for the last two years,” she said. “I still call when he is having respite, but nowhere near as much as I used to.
“While he’s there I can do all the things that we all take for granted but which are impossible when you are a full-time carer. I can sleep, read a book, get my hair done, or just sit and do nothing.”
Carrie also said the hospice gives Callum the chance to enjoy experiences tailored to his needs.
“He loves music and all the lights in the sensory room,” she said. “He loves banging drums and making noise with instruments.
“He absolutely loves it at Tŷ Gobaith, he’s just living his life to the best. He has a smile that makes you melt.”
Although Callum’s future remains uncertain, Carrie said she is grateful she accepted help when she needed it most.
“Callum is the strongest boy I know,” she said. “I call him my brave little lion, because that is what he is. Despite everything that gets thrown at him he still smiles and gets on with it.”
The hospice is encouraging people across Wales to support the appeal, helping children like Callum and their families access vital care. Donations can also be made through the charity’s summer raffle, which includes a £6,000 first prize.
