News

Terminally ill father attends daughter’s wedding thanks to special ambulance

11 Sep 2026 3 minute read

Bill Billing who is terminally ill attending his daughter Jennifer Lewis’ wedding thanks to a special ambulance service staffed by Welsh volunteers. Photo Ginny Billing/PA Wire

Claire Hayhurst, Press Association

A terminally ill father was able to see his daughter get married thanks to volunteers from the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Bill Billing, 84, was discharged from hospital in November last year with a diagnosis of stage four secondary cancer on his spine.

He had originally been diagnosed with cancer two years previously, resulting in half of one of his lungs being removed, and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The combination of both conditions left Mr Billing, who lives in Monkton, Pembrokeshire, Wales, unable to leave the home he shares with wife Ginny, 75, since returning from hospital.

However, he was determined to attend his daughter Jennifer’s wedding to her partner Callum Lewis at Bethel Baptist Church in Pembroke Dock on August 8.

His family were told about the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Wish ambulance, which provides journeys and care from volunteer staff for people near the end of their lives.

Jennifer Lewis, 37, from Pembroke Dock, said the family would be “forever grateful” for enabling her father to be present when she married Mr Lewis, 24.

“I always believed that somehow, my dad would be there when I got married, I pictured it in my mind and held on to the image of him being there, surrounded by family and friends,” she said.

“When we heard about the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Wish ambulance, it gave us an extra glimmer of hope that my dad would be able to attend and see me get married.

“Cheryl and Lily, the Wish ambulance crew, were simply incredible and they made sure my dad had all the care and support he needed.

“I can’t tell you how much of a difference it made on the day, and we will be forever grateful for what they did, we can’t thank them enough.

“These wonderful people gave up their own time and volunteered to crew the ambulance, spending hours looking after my dad and making it possible for him to be there.

“Without them or the Wish ambulance service, I honestly don’t see how we would have done it.”

Volunteers

The Wish Ambulance initiative is provided by volunteer staff from Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, with support from the patient’s specialist palliative care team.

It enables terminally ill patients across Wales to have a memory-making last journey to their choice of destination, where possible.

Since its launch in 2019, the service has made more than 150 journeys, transporting patients and their loved ones to places including concerts, sporting events, birthday parties and beaches.

In total, 800 ambulance workers have signed up to provide the service while off-duty and use non-emergency vehicles not in service that day.

Support our Nation today

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.