Mum was a very special person, and thanks to Trinity we got to have our last Christmas together.
Mum, Ruth, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in November 2018. Very quickly she became poorly, and in the middle of December we urgently needed the hospice.
I was eight when she was admitted Trinity. I remember it was a Sunday.
From that moment, I remember she just seemed so comfortable. Everything was taken care of and we could just spend time together.
The whole hospice just seemed so calm, and I was able to come and go as often as I wanted. There was a table tennis table and pool table so I didn’t have to stay in the room all day, and I even got to go over to Brian House and play with the toys in there.
Mum was in the hospice for a week. And in that time we got to celebrate our last Christmas together. We swapped presents and it was a really special memory that I still treasure.
The staff also helped us to enjoy a movie night with pizza! It’s not something we’d ever really done before but it meant so much to us both. Thanks to Trinity, we had some really special last moments together.
It was a really difficult time, but I remember how well cared for she was at the hospice and how comfortable she felt. I’ll always be so grateful for that.
The staff were great at knowing when we needed to be alone and new when we needed support. They did everything they could to make sure our last days together were the best they could be.
It’s been really difficult since she passed. It had always been just her and me, so my whole life changed but I’ve got through it thanks to the support of those who love me.
Revisiting the hospice is hard, but Mum’s leaf is on the Memory Tree in a place that I picked, and I’m looking forward to being part of this year’s Light up a Life service. I know it’ll be a really meaningful moment when I help to switch on the lights, helping them to shine not only in my mum’s memory but the many others who have been so well taken care of by Trinity.
I’m determined to do what I can for the hospice after all the staff there did for me and mum. I raised more than £3,600 by taking part in Night Run, and I know I’ll do more for them. It’s all I can do after they did so much for us.
