HAVING a Christmas Wish granted by the Adver was a chance for Kathy Mckee and her family to spend time together after a tough few years.

The 43-year-old, of Whitworth Road, cried with tears of happiness last year when she found out her sister Lynn Parfrey had nominated her for a special festive treat through our Christmas Wish campaign.

Kathy’s husband, Tommy, was involved in a bad road accident more than two years ago and was unable to work for more than a year.

In February 2011, her eldest daughter Leona underwent major brain surgery after she was diagnosed with epilepsy and suffered such severe fits that she almost died. Kathy’s father-in-law was also taken ill during the year, but despite this, Kathy always kept the family together, as well as holding down a full-time job.

Kathy, Tommy, and daughters Leona, Alana, Kayleigh, and Lacey, saw in 2012 at the Marriott Hotel’s New Year’s Eve gala dinner, with a champagne reception, five-course meal and dancing until the early hours for their Christmas Wish.

Kathy said: “It was lovely, it was just nice to spend time with the whole family. With my daughter and my husband being ill everyone had had different priorities, so it was just nice to spend the whole evening together. Everyone is a lot better now – my husband is almost better and Leona is fine.”

Kathy said she would encourage anybody thinking about nominating someone for a Christmas Wish to go ahead and do it. “I was quite embarrassed when the Adver turned up but it made me feel so much better and it was just lovely,” she said.

We launched our Christmas Wish Appeal 2012 on Monday, and we want to hear about the people who deserve a special treat this year. From December 11 to Christmas Eve, we will be granting a wish a day for one worthy person or group.

Our aim is simply to to make Christmas as magical as possible for those who deserve it most.

If you can think of someone who needs or deserves cheering up this Christmas, we want to hear from you. Tell us who the person is, why they need a Christmas Wish and how we can help. You can send in your nomination in the following ways:

  • By post: Print off a  PDF of the form and then send it to Michelle Tompkins, Christmas Wish Appeal 2012, Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Swindon SN1 3BE. Click here: Christmas Wish 2012 form.pdf
  • By email: Click here to send us details of who deserves a Christmas Wish. Please remember to include what the wish should be and why. Give your email the subject header ‘Christmas Wish 2012’. Please be sure to include your own phone number and the number of the person you are nominating.