LOCAL HOSPICE ASKS COMMUNITY TO BECOME FRIENDS OF ST BARNABAS
Rowan, Advanced Clinical Practitioner at St Barnabas Hospice, is asking local people to become Friends of St Barnabas with a gift of £15 a month, after caring for 38-year-old Sarah and seeing first-hand how regular donations can help families make the most of their time together.
There’s one moment from caring for Sarah that she thinks of often.
One warm day, Rowan was with her in the garden when she noticed Sarah crouched beside a paddling pool, carefully fishing out bugs so her kids could play. At the same time, Sarah was calmly telling Rowan that she knew she didn’t have long left to live.
Rowan says: “I remember looking at her and thinking: you’re still a mum. There she was, 38 years old, facing her last months with a rare form of cancer. Yet her focus was on making sure her kids could have a paddle in the sun.”
Sarah’s story is one of many that Rowan has seen during her time providing end-of-life care in people’s homes.
For Rowan, it captures why having a local hospice matters – and why regular giving is so important: “As a hospice nurse, I’ve met hundreds of people like Sarah over the years. Different stories, but the same love for the people around them and the places they call home.”
Now, St Barnabas is asking local people to stand alongside families like Sarah’s by becoming a Friend of St Barnabas with a gift of £15 a month.
Sarah was initially cared for at home, supported by Rowan and the St Barnabas Hospice at Home team. As her needs changed, she later moved into the St Barnabas Inpatient Unit, where she continued to receive specialist care alongside her family.For Rowan, Sarah’s story shows why regular giving is so important.
“Steady donations meant I could spend more time keeping Sarah comfortable at home. I could take the weight of responsibility off her older kids. Then, when Sarah’s needs changed and she decided to move into the hospice, we could care for her there.”
Sarah’s daughters, Beth, Kaitlyn and Lola, remember being unsure what the Hospice would be like. Instead, they found a place that felt like home.
Beth said: “I was a bit weird about mum going, because she originally planned to die at home and I knew that she didn’t like the hospital. But when we went to the Inpatient Unit, it’s so different, and she even said it felt like a home to her.
“I came in one day, and somebody was sat behind her chair, drying her hair and plaiting it for her, and it was just amazing to see.”
Lola said: “I originally imagined it would be quite intimidating, quite terrifying going there. But as soon as I stepped in, I saw her with the people in the beds next to her. She was sat there chatting, she was getting to know all the people around her.
“It just felt like a big home.”
For Kaitlyn, being cared for by St Barnabas meant she could step away from being her mum’s carer and simply be her daughter again.
“It was only when our mum came into St Barnabas that I actually felt like I could be her daughter for a bit again, rather than nurse Kaitlyn constantly thinking about morphine and med times and ‘have I done all her meals’,” she said.
“It was so nice to just be able to be her daughter again and rely on the help of others.”
The family were also able to celebrate an early Christmas together at the Hospice, just two days before Sarah died.
Kaitlyn said: “Our mum was hoping to make it to the 25th, but we had our early Christmas Day on the 4th, and she passed away on the 6th.
“It was completely last minute, but all the nurses helped us. Everyone set up the dining room with the big tree, and we had all our presents and a Christmas dinner and everything.
“Being able to have a Christmas with the family in the Hospice, that’s something we would have never got anywhere else and we’re so grateful that we did get that last memory.”
St Barnabas is now asking local people to become Friends of St Barnabas with a regular gift of £15 a month.
Regular giving provides the charity with reliable income that helps its teams plan and continue providing specialist end-of-life care to local people and their families.
Rowan said: “That’s what being a Friend means to me. It’s knowing there are local people, standing alongside families like Sarah’s, making sure they receive the care and support they need.
“Sarah’s story is just one example of why local hospice care matters. You can help hold our doors wide open for whoever needs us next. Please look after your local hospice. Become a Friend of St Barnabas with a gift of £15 a month today.”
To become a Friend of St Barnabas and help keep expert hospice care close to home, visit: https://stbarnabashospice.co.
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