The Myton Hospices is delighted to welcome professional heavyweight boxer Lewis Williams, age 26, as a Myton Ambassador. Williams, from Leamington Spa, a gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, has pledged his support as he continues his professional boxing career.
Lewis, whose association with The Myton Hospices started in 2023 when his dad was cared for by our Myton at Home team, commented:
I am immensely proud to be a Myton Ambassador. From the moment Myton entered our lives, I knew that if I ever had a platform to promote their incredible work, it would be an honour to do so.
I have set myself the ambitious goal of raising £1 million for Myton throughout my career, and I will stop at nothing to do it. My family and I were fortunate to experience the very best of what Myton offers our community and if I can help more people access their support, then I have done something right.
Ruth Freeman, CEO at The Myton Hospices, expressed her gratitude, stating:
We are deeply thankful to Lewis for his incredible support, especially at a time when raising vital funds and awareness is more crucial than ever. His commitment to helping Myton is truly inspiring.
This year, we must raise over £12 million to continue delivering compassionate palliative and end-of-life care to people living with life-limiting illnesses in Coventry and Warwickshire. Lewis’ ongoing support will undoubtedly make a meaningful difference to the patients and families who depend on our services, both now and in the future.
Setting his sights on raising an ambitious £1 million over the course of his career, Lewis has set himself the challenge to raise £20,000 over the next year, which could fund one month of specialist nursing care. Titled ’20 in 25’, Williams is hoping to raise this total through challenges and events.
Find out more about Lewis' fundraising
Having experienced Myton’s care first-hand, Lewis is a passionate advocate for our services and the people we support. We're thrilled by his dedication to support our vital work.
In 2020, Lewis’ dad, Bob, was diagnosed with a lung and heart condition and his health started to deteriorate. At the time, Lewis was getting prepared to train for the Paris 2024 Olympics and had an upcoming tournament that could pave the way to the Olympics.
However, Bob’s health worsened in late 2023, and the Myton at Home team visited him three times a day where they cared for him in his home during his last month with his family.
Lewis commented:
The Myton team were brilliant with dad and they couldn’t have made it any easier for us or him at what was an incredibly difficult and emotional time. They provided real dignity and they have hearts of gold. The standard of care they showed my dad and us as our family was exemplary and nothing like any of us had experienced before. As an ex-nurse, my mum was especially grateful for their love and kindness.
But what means the most is the time they gave us with dad. I was due to compete in a tournament when Myton got involved and, luckily, one of the nurses had a boxing background and he knew what I was going through. He pulled me aside and told me that time was running out.
He didn’t tell me to miss the tournament but he was honest about what was happening. So, I pulled out of the tournament and stayed at home with dad. My sister and I would do shifts sleeping beside him because we never wanted him to be alone.
Bob died in January 2024, aged 71, surrounded by his loved ones.
It was a sad Christmas for us but I am so glad I did it. If I had been away at that tournament, I would have missed him. As hard as it was going through it all, I know I would be in a far worse state if I had been elsewhere when he had gone. I’m just glad I got to spend that time with him. I was able to dedicate proper time to him because I knew it was precious and running out. Of course it was horrible, but we spent it as best as we could, together.
Boxing rules your life, you miss birthdays, weddings and funerals, training is everything. Whilst it was a hard decision in some ways to miss the Olympics, for me it was a no brainer – I’ll always have a career but I will only get one dad. I owe my boxing journey to my dad, he was the one who took me out of Scouts and into the boxing gym, and he was an inspiration even when he was very ill.
Find out more about Lewis' story!
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