A grateful dad is offering a beautiful cottage to NHS staff working at a new hospital to say thank you for looking after his son.
Will Harris is inviting nursing staff to live rent-free at the property near The Grange University Hospital, which is opening early in a bid to help the fight against coronavirus.
“It is the least we can do right now while nurses put their lives on the line,” said the 55-year-old from Pontypool.
The two-bedroom cottage with beautiful views, a light kitchen, and modern bathroom is in Pantygasseg – six miles away from the new hospital in Cwmbran.
The hospital was due to open officially next year but Aneurin Bevan University Health Board confirmed part of it would open later this month to provide up to 350 more beds as the NHS deals with the ongoing pandemic.
“In terms of my admiration for the nursing profession, it’s an issue very close to my heart,” said Will.
“My son Jack was diagnosed with cancer in August last year. To say we are grateful to the nursing profession and the NHS is a gross understatement.”
Jack is profoundly deaf and was the youngest child in Wales at the time to receive a cochlear implant in 2003.
He was 16 when he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome – a type of rare blood cancer.
His health deteriorated during the first half of 2019 as he suffered from fatigue and a succession of infections including shingles and glandular fever.
Will, who is an adviser to the National Deaf Children’s Society Cymru, said his son went into hospital on July 28 last year and he spent the next four months there.
Tests revealed he had myelodysplastic syndrome, meaning he did not have enough healthy blood cells.
Jack began chemotherapy in November under the care of the Teenage Cancer Trust at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
His brother Joseph – who was just about to start university – was found to be a perfect match as a donor and Jack had a bone marrow transplant the same month.
Jack went home at the beginning of December and is now making a good recovery while remaining in quarantine as he is vulnerable due to immunodeficiency.
Joseph, 19, is now back from his first year at the University of Portsmouth and is isolating with his dad.
“Jack is now making a recovery we couldn’t have dreamt of last summer, all due to the NHS in Wales,” said Will.
“The care he received was incredible. On a personal level, we are extremely grateful to the nursing profession for saving his life.”
Will, who is founder and managing director at Lawrence Miller and Co, said he wanted to do something to show his appreciation for the “truly amazing” NHS nursing staff.
He said the business has a small property portfolio and the cottage became available earlier this month when the previous tenant left. It is being offered rent-free for six months.
Will, who is also a trustee for Huggard homeless charity, said: “I couldn’t in all conscience leave a property empty while it could be used by a nurse.
“Relocating in the current climate must be so difficult and I want to do all we can to help.”
He added: “We can offer a simple, rent-free solution to the problem and it is the least we can do right now while nurses put their lives on the line.
“We can’t, as a business, do a great deal but where we can contribute to the community effort, we will.”
NHS staff who are interested in the cottage should get in touch with Will by emailing william.harris@lawrencemiller.co.uk or by direct message on Twitter.
