Dyfan's mum reveals 'emotional roller coaster' of his accident in China

* Dyfan Hughes who is now recovering from major surgery in a Chinese hospital.

The mum of the 19-year-old Llangollen man who is recovering in a Chinese hospital following an horrific crash with a truck as he and his two friends were on their cycling marathon to Thailand has sent out a heart-warming message on Facebook describing the "roller coaster" of emotions it has all meant for the family.

When the accident happened Dyfan Hughes, along with Louis Dennis from Garth and James Thomas from Wrexham, both aged 19, were on one of the final stages of their 10,000-mile cycling trip to Thailand in memory of Tony Edge, the father of their friend Harrison, who died following a heart attack in 2024 and along the way raising money for the British Heart Foundation.  

A fortnight ago Dyfan recently underwent major surgery lasting many hours and later took to social media himself to give a positive update on his condition and explain that once he has recovered enough from the operation he would be returning home to complete his recuperation.

In another post yesterday Louis said he and James would also be coming back to Wales with the hope that all three of the Westheads, as they call themselves, can eventually complete their trip to Thailand, which has already raised £50,000 for the British Heart Foundation.

In her own Facebook post Dyfan's mum, Nia Hughes, says: "It is now over five long weeks since we took the early morning call from Louis, telling us that Dyfan had been involved in a serious RTA in China and was undergoing emergency surgery.

"Since that call, we have had a roller coaster ride of emotions and we can now finally see absolute progress and an exit route back to Wales. So we want to take this opportunity as a family to thank so many people. Firstly, the messages and offers of support we have received from, family, friends, and total strangers have been inspirational to us whilst we have had to watch Dyf slowly recover from his injuries.

"Both our employers have been fantastic with us enabling us to stay out in China whilst Dyfan recovers. This has been such a relief, allowing us to focus on being by his bedside supporting him throughout.

"There have been some who have gone over and above in their help and support. Right from the start of his hospitalisation, when we were not capable of thinking straight, they were there helping us with the logistics of this process. They will remain nameless but know who they are and we are forever in their debt.

"His two amigos, Louis and James who have also gone through such an emotional rollercoaster but have remained so loyal to Dyf while he recovered and at times have been key to his recovery often sitting with him laughing and joking through some of the darker days.

"We cannot forget to mention his carer Aunty Xiu who has been with him throughout his hospital stay and has been a Godsend to us.

"Finally, we must put on record our admiration and thanks to both Leshan Hospital and the West China Hospital in Chengdu. We cannot speak highly enough of Dr Wu (Leshan) for her work in the immediate emergency work and Dr Lui Yang and his medical team who have performed miracles with Dyfan since his transfer to Chengdu . They will never know how grateful we are for their care and expertise and will forever be in our hearts.

"From where we were 5-6 weeks ago to where we are now seems nothing short of miraculous and is testament to their genius work.

"We hope to see everyone soon and whilst we are so grateful to this country, we really look forward to coming home to Wales and Dyf can start his rehabilitation in earnest.

"The biggest shout out goes to our son, Dyfan, who’s shown bravery and determination beyond his years. We know he’ll get through this, he’s already shown remarkable recovery since the accident. We’re so proud of you son."