At first, Christopher, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, was cared for at home by our community nurse team. “We had very nice nurses who used to come and visit him here,” Jan recalls. However, his condition suddenly deteriorated. “Then one day the nurse rang up and said, ‘How are things?’ and I said, ‘They’re really bad.’ He came with a doctor and said, ‘We’ll have him into the hospice’s In-Patient Unit tomorrow.’ I was so relieved because we’d been so busy with carers; I counted 10 people one day. It was awful. We only lasted a week.”
Once Christopher was admitted to the IPU, Jan felt an immediate sense of relief.
"I went back to being a wife, instead of a carer,"
“It was so helpful. I stayed there all day, every day with him from nine in the morning till nine at night, and the hospice staff gave me my meals and looked after me as well as him.”
The hospice’s care extended to creating precious memories in her husband’s final days. “They were brilliant with my husband, of course. Even on his last day, we were in the ward and the whole family came in and had a big picnic around him and chatted to him. He didn’t appear to be conscious, but we were sure he could take it in.”
“It was lovely we could do that. You wouldn’t normally be able to in a hospital.”
Now, Jan visits our Sunflower Centre
Years later, Jan found herself back at St Margaret’s, this time as a patient. After a massive bleed in May 2022, she was diagnosed with a tumour on her colon, which was surgically removed. Unfortunately, the cancer returned to her liver. “I refused chemotherapy, so I’m on what they call palliative care, but I feel fine,” Jan shares.
Previously, Jan had been in a hospital ward which she had found isolating. “I was stuck in a single room and didn’t see anyone. People weren’t very friendly; it was all very difficult.”
Her GP then recommended St Margaret’s. “Despite the brilliant care Christopher and I received all those years ago, I was apprehensive about it at first. Although I am ill, I don’t feel it. I think the word ‘hospice’ sort of raised flags for me, and I thought, ‘I’m not sure I’m ready for this.’ I was nervous at the start, but it was all very gentle, and everyone made me feel very much at ease.”
Now, Jan attends the Sunflower Day Centre. The centre offers specialised support and advice to patients with progressive life-limiting illnesses who can live at home but require the hospice’s unique support. “You’re welcomed with open arms. Everyone has been very kind and friendly,” she says.
At the Sunflower Centre, Jan has made use of several complementary services.? “Physio has been particularly helpful, and Laura has been wonderful with her massages.? That has been a real treat, particularly with my feet. For spiritual care, I’ve had a good chat with Ann, their Spiritual Care Coordinator.”
“I’ve also enjoyed the craft sessions and chatting to everybody. Bridget rushes around doing her arts and crafts, and she does little quizzes which are quite fun. We’ve done flower arranging, dying silk scarves and creating home-made cards. It’s very fun! I even made one of them in time for my daughter’s birthday,” Jan says. “They have lots of practical conversations too about topics like resuscitation. It’s been very helpful because I hadn’t realised all the different ways the hospice could help me.”
Jan would thoroughly recommend the Sunflower Centre to other patients; “I would sing its praises completely. Everybody’s very friendly, and it’s worthwhile because it prepares you for later.”
You don’t know what will happen in life, but I know that with St Margaret’s there to help it will be much better than if they weren’t.”
