A nurse whose grandad, mum and dad all died at LOROS Hospice is raising money to thank the staff for their care.
Karen Wainwright, who used to work on the hospice’s inpatient ward as a registered nurse, first lost her grandad to cancer, then her dad in 2019 and in July this year her mum also died there from cancer.
The care her family received at the hospice has given Karen the resolve to support the charity as much as she can, despite her heart break.
Karen said: “I worked at LOROS as a nurse, so I knew how good it was. My Dad thought they were wonderful when they cared for my grandad, always going the extra mile to make sure he was comfortable, so he was content to end his days here too.
“The staff really went above and beyond to support my Dad. He was a huge Leicester City fan and they arranged for him to have a tour of King Power, even sitting in the manager’s chair! He was also visited at the Hospice by Alan ‘the Birch’ Birchenall who was his hero. It gave him some truly special memories.”
Karen’s mum was devastated by her husband’s death and was struggling with her own health too. Finally, after several hospital stays, she was diagnosed with final stage stomach cancer. It was a matter of days before she was admitted to LOROS.
“It was heart-breaking. She’d already been through so much losing Dad. We’d always been such a close family and loved each other dearly. She was the best Mum me and my brother could have asked for, and the best wife to my Dad.”
Karen stayed at her mum’s bedside throughout. “I spent many hours reminiscing with her, and although she was in and out of sleep, I knew she could hear me. I played music too, that Mum and Dad used to listen to together. It felt as though Dad was right there too, by her side.
“I didn’t leave the Hospice at all, because I wanted to be with her every minute. The staff were incredible; I could never thank them enough. They really cared for me, making sure I was fed and watered and gave me lots of comfort and reassurance. I’d never stayed in a hospital before with either of my parents, because I never felt welcome, but it wasn’t like that at LOROS.”
After her dad died Karen raised money for the hospice by doing sponsored walks and even a parachute jump. Now her mum has gone too, Karen is redoubling her efforts, and she’s supporting the charity’s Winter Warmer raffle by selling tickets and raising awareness of how LOROS supported her.
“I feel like it's an opportunity for me to give something back to the Hospice and I know my parents would be proud”, Karen added.
The LOROS Winter Warmer Raffle is open until 5th December with tickets costing £1. LOROS.co.uk/raffle
