Evan was a happy, cheeky & healthy baby boy until one day in July 2010 during a nappy change, a small red mark was noticed. This small red mark quickly became a larger red mark, resulting in countless visits to and from the hospital over the following few months. 

Unfortunately, in September 2010, when Evan was just 18 months old, we received the devastating news that he had a rare childhood cancer - Rhabdomyosarcoma. This came as a complete shock to everyone who knew and loved Evan and as a family our lives were turned upside down.

Evan faced months of travelling back and forth for gruelling chemotherapy sessions, operations, and radiotherapy. The majority of Evan's treatment took place on Sky ward in Cardiff, where he undertook three days of chemotherapy every 21 days. His chemotherapy quickly destroyed his immune system and as a result we also spent a lot of time on Cilgerran ward in Carmarthen as he regularly picked up bugs and infections and needed strong antibiotic treatment. Evan was fed through a tube which regularly dislodged when he was sick, this again resulted in journeys up and down to Carmarthen for a new tube to be placed.  At just over two years old Evan and his family travelled to The University College Hospital in London for Evan to begin his radiotherapy sessions. It was a special type of radiotherapy that Evan had to face called Brachytherapy. This involved Evan having metal wires inserted around the site of his tumour so the radiotherapy would only target the specific areas. Evan had a mould made for him which kept him from moving and dislodging the wires once they had been inserted, this went from under his arms down to his legs. He was kept in his mould which we named his "special shorts" for five days. Undergoing two anaesthetics daily for the five days Evan was the youngest child in the UK to undergo this treatment. It is a testament to his strength of character that because he coped so well his London Dr's decided this treatment would be possible for younger patients following Evan's example.  He tackled everything that faced him head on and always with a smile on his face. 

Through out all of this, we as a family were supported by LATCH, the Welsh children's cancer charity. LATCH not only provide financial support, they support families by offering accommodation upstairs from the ward so families can all stay together, they provide activities for the children, emotional and social support for families which is very much needed, free car parking passes for the hospital car park, access to social workers, support for siblings, the list is endless. 

All of our birthdays (apart from Evan's amazingly), Christmas, and New Year were spent in hospital. On Corey's (Evan's older brother) 6th birthday we were in isolation and couldn't leave the room as Evan had a severe infection. LATCH bought Corey a birthday present, organised a cake, and had a card signed by everyone on the ward sent to our isolation room, and its the little touches like this that make LATCH so special.

Going through the worst time in any parents life, LATCH made it that little bit easier to cope by supporting us through out in every possible way they could and we will be forever grateful to them.

May 2015 marks five years since the end of Evan's treatment, an important milestone for him as the chance of any recurrence is now much smaller. Evan and his older brother Corey decided between them that they wanted to do something to raise money for LATCH to celebrate and came up with the idea of a sponsored bike ride as they are both bike mad! Corey and Evan will cycle 17 miles across country from Nant-yr-Arian to Machynlleth on the 28th of May. Although we hope to never need LATCH's help again, up to 70 families a year do, so this is for them.

We count our lucky stars every day that Evan is fit, healthy and happy and is able to carry on with his life as a normal six year old boy. We know he will tackle this challenge like he does everything else he faces, with determination and a smile on his face, never giving up.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and visit our page, we really do appreciate it.

Lots of love,

The Wells family xxx

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