The players brought smiles to the faces of the children and their loved ones during their annual afternoon at the hospital, which is located a short distance from Rodney Parade, in Newport. They handed out presents on the children’s wards, as well as posing for pictures and signing autographs.
The squad trained at Ystrad Mynach this morning ahead of the Boxing Day Guinness Pro14 game against Cardiff Blues, before going to the hospital, with Dragons wing /full back Hallam Amos speaking about the importance of the visit, particularly given some of the youngsters will be spending Christmas in hospital.
'It’s something us as players look forward to every year because it’s nice for us to see the kids. They are always very happy when we arrive and you can see a few of the children’s faces brighten up.
'We go to the hospital every year and it’s very important for us to be able to give something back. It is incredible how the children fight against their adversities and we are happy to meet them.’
Jack Dixon added: 'It is a good day for me and the team because it is a really good thing to come here to spend some time with these children. We need to do this every year because it is good for us to remember how fortunate we are.
'We handed out some Dragons presents and had photos taken with the kids so if we can spread some happiness, especially at this time of year, that’s fantastic.”
Lucy Midgeley, mother of Olivia who is set to be in hospital over Christmas, after breaking her femur on Children in Need day, said “It will be a different Christmas for us this year as we’ve been in hospital for five weeks already and with Olivia in traction she is unable to get out of the bed. Trying to tell a five year old she wont be home to Christmas was emotional but the visit from the Dragons has been exciting today and brought a smile to her face.
“We’re all welcome to visit on Christmas day, and the nurses and the staff at Royal Gwent go above and beyond to make sure these kids in hospital have a wonderful Christmas and that’s all we can ask for as parents.”
Carol Dance, Health Care Support Worker with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board spoke about the benefit of the Dragons’ players visit: ‘Christmas is a really busy time for us. So on a day when it’s dark and wet outside, a visit from the Dragons helps brighten everyone’s day. The children have had lovely presents and for some of the parents, they have got lovely stories to go back and tell other kids at home and it is brilliant for morale. It’s hard for the children and parents as they think Santa can’t make it to the hospital but we’ll make sure he gets here on the big day.”
Leon Brown, James Benjamin, Dorian Jones and Ashton Hewitt also took time out of training this week to visit Serennu Christmas party. The Sparkle charity helps over 300 children and young people with disabilities and developmental difficulties benefit from treatment and activities at the centre.
