Living your last days in the comfort of your own home is the lasting wish of many people.
But whilst LOROS hospice nurses care for patients in their own homes, they are not always able to be there at night.
Garry’s wife Keri died two years ago and was unable to get the support she needed.
After a diagnosis of incurable cancer in March 2020, by December, Keri’s symptoms had grown increasingly painful. Garry tried to call for overnight support but the family were told the waiting time was around 3 hours for a visit.
Garry recalls: “During this time, Keri’s pain and anxiousness increased; she knew she was dying and no one was there to administer the symptom relieving drugs that were right next to her. The pain in the eyes of the girl I’d loved for 30 years was more than I could take.
“Eventually, at midnight the nurse arrived and gave Keri the medication she so desperately needed.
“Now I reflect on Keri’s death I think about how it could have been different, and how this might have helped me and my children come to terms with our grief.
LOROS Hospice is fundraising for an Overnight Response Service, to provide a specialist nurse, trained in end of life care, available to patients and their families for advice and support between the hours of 10pm and 8am, to help care for people in their darkest hours.
For the 3,200 families across the county each year who experience the death of a loved one at home, it means reassurance that help will come no matter the time, day or night.
In order to raise the funds to kickstart this important new service, LOROS is inviting people to donate to its ‘Tree of Life’, a newly commissioned sculpture which will be installed in the hospice gardens. The charity is inviting supporters to purchase an engraved leaf to hang on the tree, and raise funds to initiate this all-important new service.
Jo Polkey, Director of Patient Services at LOROS, said “It’s so important that people feel able to choose the place where they die and for many that’s in the comfort of their own home. To achieve this, families tell us they need more support to keep their loved one relaxed and comfortable. We hope people will see the importance of helping to fulfil a final wish and support this new service.”
Leaves can be pre-ordered now – visit loros.co.uk/treeoflife for more.
