Hospice Care Week: 'I hope when my time comes, my death is the same'

A year on from that peaceful moment, Gavin’s positivity despite his loss is being shared with the community to coincide with Hospice Care Week.

Each year Hospice Care Week, a national awareness campaign, focusses on a different aspect of hospice care.

For 2016, the theme is 'Hospice care is…'.

Gavin, of Dedham, said: “In May 2015 my life changed dramatically, a phone call that I will never forget.

“My father-in-law Bill Palmer had been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer so advanced that it could not be treated.

“We were told Bill would only have a few weeks to live, we were devastated.

“My father-in-law had always been incredibly independent, stubborn some may say, and he was adamant that dying in hospital was not an option.

“The SinglePoint team from St Helena Hospice granted that wish for Bill and our home was transformed into a place where Bill could live, with ease, until his last day with us.

“From the first time we met the Hospice at Home team, we knew that Bill was in good hands, he was treated with dignity and respect.

“Bill’s garden was his paradise - he’d nurtured and grown the most beautiful array of plants and shrubbery that you could see this from the windows around the house.

“When Bill died at the end of July, aged 91, his bed looked out onto the garden, I remember the calmness and how dignified Bill’s death was.

“I hope when my time comes, my death is the same.”

Last year, St Helena Hospice supported 4,020 people and its income from donations, fundraising, its shops and lottery totalled. £4.7million.

It costs £8.7million to provide its services.

Gavin was among those who played a part in helping it raise so much to allow it to continue what it does.

He said: “Bill, in his younger days, was a keen cyclist, managing rides around Alton Water right into his eighties.

“I had made a promise to Bill, before he died, that I would do what I could to thank the hospice on his behalf.

“In true Bill style I have taken on cycling events in memory, I know he would have been egging me on.

“My first event was the St Helena Hospice Cycle Ride - fuelled by bananas, flapjacks, water and memories of Bill I managed the 50-mile route.

“I have to admit I got a little misty-eyed as I got to the finish line, thinking how Bill would have loved to have taken part in such an event.

“I remember watching the London 2012 Olympic road race with Bill. We both agreed it would be such an incredible event to take part in so a year after his death I took part in the Ride London, a 100-mile cycling event starting at the Olympic Park and finishing at Buckingham Palace.

“I rode for the hospice, for Bill, to say thank you.”

This week is Hospice Care Week and St Helena Hospice is asking anyone who has experience of the services it provides to show their support by sharing their story.

During the week, staff from across the charity will be out and about across the area with a story pod and a board on which members of the public can share their stories or leave a message.

There will also be opportunities for those who would like to share their story at a more convenient time.

The pod and board will be at many locations throughout the week between 9am and 5pm, including Marks and Spencer in Clacton; Sainsbury’s in Clacton, Perrywood Nurseries in Tiptree, NatWest in Colchester, Culver Square in Colchester, Philip Morant School in Colchester and Clacton Shopping Village.

It’s hoped that people will also post selfies of themselves on social media holding a message about what hospice care means to them.

Anyone doing this should include the tags #sthelenahospice, @sthelenahospice and #hospicecareis…

Visitors to St Helena Hospice’s shops around the area will be able to leave a message on a poster, and they can also share their story by emailing stories@sthelenahospice.org.uk

• To find out more information about the 2016 Hospice Care Week campaign visit hospiceuk.org/hospicecareweek and for more information about the services St Helena Hospice provides, click HERE.