Event Details
Light Up a Life event on Sunday 3rd December
Join us for a very special Light Up a Life Service on Sunday 3rd December.
This annual service, starting at 5pm, allows us to come together to honour and remember those who hold a special place in our hearts.
For the first time in years, this event will be held at our beautiful Hospice grounds where you will be able to visit our chapel and light a candle in memory of your loved one. You are also welcome to view your loved one’s name in the Book of Remembrance and be part of the service, as well as see the wonderful Christmas tree with its lights shining for all those no longer with us.
If you’re attending with children, they can take part in a creative activity by decorating Christmas baubles, which they can take home as a special keepsake.
The LOROS Memory Light Trail
Wander in and out of thousands of beautiful lights, each one in memory of loved ones no longer with us. Follow the trail around our beautiful Hospice grounds, filled with twinkling, sparkling, starry lights.
Magical and filled with hope, our family-friendly Memory Light Trail is an enchanting experience for everyone attending our Light Up a Life service. As well as the beautiful, dazzling trail, there will be opportunities to reflect on loved ones no longer with us, and commemorate their memory by lighting a candle to add to the display.
Our LOROS Memory Light Trail is open to view from 3.30-6pm on Sunday 3rd December.
The LOROS Light Up a Life Appeal
As the nights grow longer and December draws ever closer, it’s easy to get lost in the busy festive period. It’s an important time, but also a difficult one for many, especially for those who are facing the fact that they, or a loved one, is dying.
By giving a donation you can make all the difference for patients and their families. Your support enables our specialist palliative care nurses to leave patients’ homes, knowing that they did everything they could to help them, and that the patient’s life ended in the best possible way, surrounded by their family, not in pain and ready to go.
By donating what you can to the LOROS Light Up a Life Appeal you can help us give families the opportunity to create lasting memories with their loved ones that they can treasure for years to come.
Natasha's Story
Natasha Kazinski is a specialist palliative care nurse at LOROS Hospice.
She works in the community, visiting patients in their own homes and supporting them and their families in a multitude of ways.
"I see patients at the most important time of their lives. They’ve had a terminal diagnosis and often had a difficult time with treatment. They feel like they’ve lost control and they’re not in charge of their lives. I tell them, I can’t change the outcome but I can change the journey to get there. My job is not just to tackle people’s symptoms – although pain relief and sickness are often the first things that need sorting – but also how they’re feeling mentally, what support they need, what benefits they can access, how are their family coping – everything that is important to them. I look beyond the diagnosis to see the real person there.
I love my job. People think it must be depressing but it’s actually the best job in the world. To help people leave this world and make it as good as it can be – that’s an honour. Recently I went to check on a lady who I knew was in her last hours of life. As I walked in, her husband said, ‘she’s smiling because she can hear your voice.’ I held her hand and she smiled again at me and I asked her if she was comfortable and she nodded her head slightly. And holding her hand, she died peacefully. I left her house knowing her life ended in the best possible way, surrounded by her family, not in pain and ready to go. It makes me feel humble and so proud.
As well as looking after their care, I also support patients with less usual requests. Recently I visited John, who told me he wanted to ensure his partner was supported and really wanted to get married. John couldn’t get to the registry office, as he could barely move, so I arranged for the registrar to come to their flat. It wasn’t a traditional wedding at all. John and his partner were married in their slippers with tin foil rings, but there was real joy there and they loved it. Arranging a wedding doesn’t sound like it would be in a nurse’s job description, but it relieved a lot of anxiety for John to know that his loved ones would be provided for, and that’s exactly what I’m here for. We see the person not just the patient.”
By donating what you can to the LOROS Light Up a Life Appeal you can help us create lasting memories for our patients and their families.
If you have any queries or would like further information, please contact our Fundraising team by sending an email to fundraising@loros.co.uk
