Arron Evans, from Anglesey, works as a Digital Reporter for The Leader, covering stories in Flintshire and Wrexham.
During his eight-and-a-half years working as a journalist, he has also worked for the North Wales Chronicle, North Wales Pioneer, Rhyl Journal and Denbighshire Free Press.
On April 20 of last year, Arron's and wife Georgina's son Ffredi was born at Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor.
Although it looked as though he was initially doing really well, it later became apparent that his bowel was not working as it should be.
After two days, Ffredi was transferred to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool and over the course of eight days he was treated by the incredible surgical and neonatal teams in neonatal ICU.
He was then diagnosed with Hirschsprung's Disease - a rare congenital disease that affects around 200 babies and children a year in the UK (1 in 5,000).
For Ffredi and other children with Hirschsprung's, their large intestine doesn’t work in the way it should, meaning that the bowel can become blocked and result in a very serious infection.
In August of last year, Ffredi underwent surgery at Alder Hey Hospital, where he was fitted with a stoma.
Since then, the family has been back and fourth between Anglesey and Liverpool as Ffredi has appointments and has dealt with various illnesses.
And their latest visit came as he had surgery to have what remained of his large intestine removed and the re-fashioning of his ileostomy.
During the family's most recent stay at the children's hospital, they received a very special visit from some Premier League stars.
Liverpool FC players Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Alisson and manager Arne Slot came along to the ward they were on to hear about families' stories, take pictures and hand out gifts.
You can watch their visit here ...
“This place is full of heroes.” ❤️
Another special visit to see the brave patients, families, and incredible staff at @AlderHey Children’s Hospital 🥰 pic.twitter.com/vEDSDLfJlV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 16, 2025
And this was not the first time that Arron, Georgina and Ffredi had met club captain Van Dijk either, as they also saw him last Christmas when he visited along with wife Rike Nooitgedag.
Speaking about that reunion - and meeting the other four stars - Arron said: "It's always surreal seeing them pop along to the ward. I once again reminded them all that Ffredi, like me, is an Arsenal fan and made sure he was holding his Arsenal football when they came in!
"They did some filming for LFC TV and I did my best to get my Arsenal tattoo into full view for it!
"I told Virgil; 'no offence, but I hope we don't see you again next year' as we don't want to make it a hat-trick of Christmas Alder Hey stays.
"But, all jokes aside though, Ffredi really enjoyed having them visit and spend a bit of time with him. He didn't stop smiling and even gave Virgil a big high-five on his way out."
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Arron added: "What they do every year to keep putting smiles on the faces of the children, parents and staff at Alder Hey is genuinely incredible and greatly appreciated by the three of us."
Ffredi is now home from Alder Hey and is recovering well from surgery.
Arron Evans with wife Georgina and son Ffredi in front of the giant Christmas tree at Alder Hey. (Image: Arron Evans)
Arron said: "A hospital is the last place you'd want to be at Christmas, and yet Alder Hey make it feel so magic. We also spent time with Santa Claus while we were there and admired the decorations, like the giant Christmas tree in reception, which made us feel like we weren't missing out on anything too much back home.
"We hope now that, heading into 2026, Ffred can start to lead a much better quality of life and keep being the cheeky, smiley boy that he is. Me and Georgina are so unbelievably proud of him."
Other members of the Liverpool team, from Hugo Ekitike to Cody Gakpo, also attended Alder Hey on the same day to spend time with children in other parts of the hospital.