A devoted young dad-of-two was diagnosed with brain cancer days before Christmas. Up until the shocking diagnosis, everything was going well for Nathan Phillips from Brynamman, Ammanford.
He was happily married, had two brilliant boys, and had recently taken up managing his local football team, Bryn Rovers but last December, the 35-year-old received the devastating update. Nathan, who works as a contractor, started having headaches followed by blurry vision when he was at football games in September last year. He ended up going to the hospital on November 29, and had a biopsy on December 2. Nearly two weeks later, he was diagnosed with grade four brain cancer.
His younger brother, Shaun Phillips, said his brother has been a “rock” for the family since the devastating diagnosis. Shaun said: “He’s a brilliant character. Obviously, I would say that because I’m family but yes, he’s a brilliant character. He kind of says how it is, always has done. He’s got his partner and his two boys. He’s always been into football, he’s a Spurs fan.” For the latest Carmarthenshire news, sign up to our newsletter here.
Nathan Phillips at a Christmas party organised by his football club.
(Image: Shaun Phillips)
Both Nathan and Shaun are avid football fans, and recently took over managing the Bryn Rovers’ under-8 side, Shaun said that while the family did get sad over the news, Nathan has been positive throughout.
He explained: “He’s been our rock, to be honest. Obviously, the rest of us, we get upset about it but he’s been even strong as anything. He’s been positive throughout the whole ordeal.
“You cannot believe the support around him, and obviously a lot of people speaking to him, saying nice words, and sending their love and stuff like that. So, yes he’s been great, really, really good, to be honest.”
‘Unreal’ support
Nathan has two sons, nine -year-old, Mason Phillips, and five-year-old Tommie Phillips, with his wife, Laura Tyrrell, 29 who is a care worker. The family has been doing their best to keep up the morale but the diagnosis has taken its toll.
Shaun said: “When Nathan went into hospital and he was taken from Glangwili where he had his scans to the Heath in Cardiff obviously, the boys would ask Laura: ‘where’s daddy?’ “Obviously Laura has to say, he’s in the hospital. You know, ‘Doctors are looking after daddy’. But they’re at the age where they wouldn’t really fully grasp the understanding of what’s happening.”
As Nathan is currently unable to work and drive, and Laura too has taken time off work to support Nathan, the loss of a wage has been difficult for the family. Shaun has since set up a GoFundMe for Nathan, the proceeds of which would cover his absence from work, household bills, treatment-related travel expenses, and more. You can donate to the fundraiser here.
Nathan’s family, from left: Laura, Mason, Nathan, Shaun, Rachel (Shaun’s wife), Tommie, and Nathan’s parents Graham and Suzanne.
(Image: Shaun Phillips)
Shaun explained that so far, the support for Nathan has been “unreal”. Bryn Rovers held a Christmas do, which saw nearly £730 raised for the family in a single day.
Shaun said: “It’s been unreal, absolutely unreal. We had a Christmas do on the 21st for Bryn Rovers and he [Nathan] was unaware of it, but they organised it to send money and support and during tough time during Christmas. Because Nathan has pretty much been off work since he went into hospital back at the end of November.
“It’s just been unreal. The Christmas do for him managed to raise £730, and also there was a donation from the Bryn Rovers Club themselves. There’s a few members of the club that wished to do a kind of event for Nathan before he went into treatment, which we had on a Saturday… He was unaware of it and when he came in, he was overwhelmed with just seeing so many people that were there to support them.”
Shaun added: “I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone. It’s just the kind of support and the generosity from people, not just on the financial side of stuff… I don’t think he’s put his phone down because people have just constantly been messaging, wishing him luck and that they can’t believe the news and stuff. So we just send a massive thank you to everyone for their kind words and love and support.”