Supporting St Barnabas House in memory of wife

Published on: 14/12/2021

Hospice care never stops, even at Christmas time

While you’re tucking into your Christmas dinner, the care team at St Barnabas House will be working hard to ensure that the patients and families who need their care are well looked after. Here, Scott has shared his story about the last Christmas he spent with his wife, Fran.

In 2019, Fran was diagnosed with breast cancer. Three days before she was due to end her chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she received the devastating news that the cancer had spread to her liver. This is when Fran and her family was referred to St Barnabas House.

On Christmas Eve 2020, Fran’s health started to deteriorate, and her pain was increasing. “I didn’t want to phone the hospital as I knew I wouldn’t be able to see her. So, I phoned St Barnabas House to see what they could do and that’s when the hospice said they wanted her to come in for pain management,” said Scott.

“We were really grateful that they could support Fran, but didn’t want to spend what could have been our last Christmas Day without her. We spoke to one of the nurses who said we could go up and spend Christmas Day with her at St Barnabas, as a family. This is a time I will never forget, we got to spend the day together, eat our Christmas dinner and share presents, and Fran’s pain was managed. Given the situation we were in, this was a really magical time – we even got to take the dog with us!”

Fran stayed at St Barnabas House until she sadly passed away on 3 January 2021. “In the time she was at St Barnabas House, the Care Team did all they could to make her comfortable. The physio team made sure she had a bike in her room as her legs were achy, and the catering team went out of their way to make sure she had lots of ice lollies that she loved!”

This Christmas, Scott has given a donation to St Barnabas House to thank them for their support. “It’s so important to donate to St Barnabas House to make sure that other families can have that time together and receive the care and support they need.”