THE festive period is a special time for most families, but for one Cwmbran mum it is a reminder of the importance of making the most of every moment.

Ceri Smith explains that her Ellis battled cancer as a baby and has been in remission for the last five years.

But the now seven-year-old was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic condition causing benign tumours to grow on and inside his body.

Sadly, doctors have told the Smith family that they don’t think Ellis will survive into his teens, which is why they are determined to create more memories together this Christmas.

Mrs Smith credits Ty Hafan, the hospice for children in Wales, for their support in providing the family with play therapy at home and helping to make more precious moments for the family during this tough time.

This winter, Ellis and his family have been selected to front Ty Hafan’s Christmas Precious Moments appeal, which aims to raise funds to enable the charity to continue to provide much-needed emotional and practical support to families who have children with life-limiting conditions.

Mrs Smtih said: “We can’t thank Ty Hafan enough for what they do for our entire family. Ellis gets really anxious about his condition and finds it hard to be around other children but he can totally relax when he’s at T? Hafan.”

Ellis is one of more than 600 children with life-limiting conditions in Wales that Ty Hafan has helped over the last 15 years. The charity also supports the families of these children, providing vital emotional support.

“It is such a relief to speak to Tracy, our Family Support Practitioner, about our worries; she is always there at the other end of the phone if we need anything,” she added.

It costs more than £4 million every year to provide Ty Hafan’s services to those families that need them.

With the public’s support, Ty Hafan hopes to create many more valuable moments for these families to share with one another.

As part of the appeal, people are also being encouraged to share their own precious moments with Ty Hafan on social media in the run up to Christmas, using #preciousmoments and tagging @TyHafan either on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Each week, the charity will be sharing each of the shared moments on its giant picture calendar online at www.tyhafan.org/precious-moments/

To make a donation please visit http://www.tyhafan.org/precious-moments/