* Dai and Judy Davies on their wedding day.
The widow of legendary Welsh goalkeeper Dai Davies has made a moving appeal for people to support the hospice that cared for him in his final months.
Former Wales international
Dai died in February at the age of 72 from pancreatic cancer at his home
in Llangollen, having received palliative care and rehabilitation at
Nightingale House in Wrexham.
His wife Judy has voiced her
gratitude for the help the hospice gave to Dai and is backing its fundraising
Build a Balloon campaign, praising supporters and corporate sponsors including
Ifor Williams Trailers.
Fundraising
activities for Nightingale House that provides specialist palliative care
services for people with life-limiting illnesses have been badly hit by the
pandemic.
The annual
running costs of the hospice are £3.4 million and 80 per cent of it has come
from fundraising.
Judy said: “I so appreciate
the support Ifor Williams Trailers and all the other wonderful sponsors give
the hospice.
“The hospice is largely
reliant on fundraising and donations to carry out its work and I have seen first-hand
whilst Dai was supported at Nightingale House exactly how important this work
is.
“It would be wonderful if
people could put their support behind the Build A Balloon appeal as this week
is the final week of the campaign before the balloon goes into production in
Spain.”
Judy saw at
first hand the quality of the care at Nightingale House when they cared for
former Everton and Wrexham goalkeeper Dai before he was transferred from the
Royal Liverpool Hospital last year after spending several weeks in hospital and
without any visitors due to the pandemic.
Dai’s transfer to the hospice
enabled him to be reunited with his family and receive the physiotherapy that
saw him learn to walk again.
Judy said: “Dai’s days at
Nightingale House and the wonderful care and support we both received when he
was a Day Patient too, totally enhanced his quality of life during his final
months.
“I also feel that it actually
helped to prolong the precious time we had left together and I will be forever
grateful to everyone at Nightingale House for the care he received.
"Nothing was too much
trouble for example, when he arrived somebody had kindly put a small vase of
fresh sweet peas from the hospice garden on his bedside table.
"Dai had been in hospital
for several weeks, so coming to Nightingale House felt like a five-star hotel
for him.
“It was wonderful to have him
home eventually and that experience was made possible by the care and attention
given to us all as a family by the team at Nightingale House."
During his distinguished
career, Dai was capped 52 times by Wales and kept goal for clubs including
Swansea City, Tranmere Rovers and Bangor City.
After playing top-fight
football with Everton, he joined Wrexham in 1977 and helped them win the
Third Division title in 1977-78.
He went on to work as a
football pundit and was also a popular figure away from the sport, with
the proud Welsh speaker running a natural health clinic in Llangollen and being
admitted to the prestigious Gorsedd of the Bards at the National Eisteddfod in
1978.
Judy and Dai were together for
over 25 years. She hopes her experience will make people appreciate exactly
what Nightingale House Hospice has to offer.
"Dai so appreciated the
support he received and he would want anybody in a similar situation to reach
out to the Nightingale House team.
"People often seem to
think that a hospice is just where someone goes at the very end of their life,
but it is so much more than that.
"The hospice did so much
to help Dai and nothing was too much trouble."
Dai had three children and
three step-children and 12 grandchildren and step-grandchildren.
His death was met with an
outpouring of grief across Wales and from fans of the clubs he played for.
"Dai had worked
extensively on television promoting football through the medium of Welsh,” said
Judy.
"He was a loving family
man and we all miss him greatly. However, it is comforting to know how much he
meant to people and that was clear from the wonderful tributes paid to
him."
Nightingale House is marking
its 25th birthday by running its Build a Balloon fundraising
campaign, which will see a hot air balloon take to the skies complete with
sponsored panels.
Ifor Williams Trailers has
regularly supported the hospice and is throwing its weight behind the Build a
Balloon campaign by serving as a corporate sponsor.
As she returned to Nightingale
House to show her support for the campaign, Judy met with Lois Wynne from Ifor
Williams Trailers.
Lois conveyed the strong
relationship that has been developed between the two organisations.
She said: "Nightingale
House is such a lovely and important cause that we have been supporting for
several years.
"The balloon campaign is
again something we are very happy to support and we would encourage anybody who
is able to get involved to do so.
"It has been a pleasure
to meet with Judy and it is nice to hear how much she appreciates what the
hospice did for her husband, Dai.
"The hospice does a lot of very important work and we at Ifor Williams Trailers are keen to do whatever we can to support it."
Sarah Povey, community and
event fundraiser at Nightingale House, expressed her thanks for the company's
sponsorship.
She said: "We are very
grateful for the support we receive from our corporate sponsors, including Ifor
Williams Trailers.
"We have enjoyed a good
relationship with Ifor Williams Trailers for many years and the support they
provide makes a massive difference to us.
"The last year has been
very challenging as we have not been able to hold some fundraising events,
meaning we have lost out on a substantial amount of income.
"The Build a Balloon
campaign is therefore very important and we appreciate the support we have
received. Every donation to the hospice is gratefully accepted.
"We are also grateful for
the kind words Judy has said about the hospice. At Nightingale House we seek to
go to great lengths to help our patients as much as we possibly can."
* For more information about Nightingale House and how to donate visit www.nightingalehouse.co.uk