North Devon Hospice newsletter - Winter 2017

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Patricia supported at The Long House:

Autumn/Winter 2017

Our latest news for supporters and friends of North Devon Hospice

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My Mum’s strength through Motor Neurone Disease.

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Volunteers find love:

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John and Sylvia’s chance meeting at the hospice leads to 4 happy years together.

Mission:Unbreakable:

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New obstacles to test our Unbreakable fundraisers in October. Sign up today!

Horse visit to hospice delights patient at end of life Going the extra mile happens on a daily basis at North Devon Hospice, but it doesn’t usually involve bringing a horse on to the premises!

After a conversation between hospice inpatient Patrick Saunders and a nurse, his love of horses became apparent, having been around them his entire life.

Hospice nurse, Cathy Whattingham said “His passion for horses was so clear and they’d obviously played a big part in his life.

We happen to be next door to the North Devon Equine Rescue Centre, so we thought we’d see if they might be able to bring a horse to the hospice to visit Patrick.

Several conversations later, a beautiful brown horse stood outside the front door of the hospice!”

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Welcome to our latest newsletter.Your support continues to make a vital difference to the lives of our patients and their families. I hope you enjoy reading about some of our recent work and the impact your support continues to have across North Devon.Thank you!

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CEO Stephen Roberts

We were thrust into a world we knew nothing about!

Anne and Doug share their story

My Mum’s strength through Motor Neurone Disease

Martin highlights his pride in his mum

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Volunteers find love

John and Sylvia's joy after volunteering 7

Get set for multi-coloured mayhem It's time to get blasted in colour

Mission:Unbreakable

Sign up for this year’s event now

Marvellous care for Marion Marion's support through her illness A gift in your will

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Support our future with a lasting legacy 11 2

Pick up a bargain in South Molton!

We’ve been celebrating the opening of our latest hospice shop in South Molton.

Our 12th charity shop was opened in South Molton in June.Visitors to the shop have been picking up some great deals on a wide range of goods including clothing, bric-a-brac, books, CDs and DVDs. Hospice CEO, Stephen Roberts said “We are delighted to open our latest shop in South Molton and it’s been encouraging to see that it is performing well. We need people to buy goods in all of our shops but we also need good quality donations that we can sell. Our retail operation generates over a million pounds of the charitable income we need to raise each year to run our hospice services – so every shop selling goods indirectly helps us support our patients and their families across North Devon."

To find the location of your nearest hospice shop, visit www.northdevonhospice.org.uk/shops

South Molton Shop Opening

Continued from front page

Patrick was not well enough to get out of bed to see the horse, but the nurses wheeled his bed into the courtyard so he could meet his special visitor up close.

horses and soon after they were to be married. Earlier this year they celebrated their 66th anniversary. Patrick had also taught all their children to ride.

It was Patrick’s father, Victor, who gave him his love of all things equine, having worked with horses in the First World War. In a beautiful twist of fate, the name of the horse that came to visit him at the hospice, was also called Victor.

Hospice nurse Cathy Whattingham commented about the visit “I’ll never forget Patrick’s smile when he was stroking that horse’s face.You could see they had a real connection and it is experiences like that which make hospice care so special.

We may not be able to put days into life, but we can put life into the days of our patients.”

Patrick was clearly overjoyed by his visit from Victor the horse, and got to feed him apples, carrots and polo mints (a horse’s favourite by all accounts). This experience came as a real surprise to Patrick’s daughter, Jayne, who had come to visit her Dad and arrived to see him stroking the gentle animal outside the hospice. “I simply didn’t expect him to have an experience like that at the hospice! He’d had a couple of bad days and wasn’t himself at all, but he was absolutely full of beans when I arrived and you could see the joy on his face from being able to interact with such a gorgeous animal. ” Patrick taught his wife, Wendy, to ride at his family’s stables when she was just 15 years old. They bonded over their love of

Sadly, Patrick died at the hospice just 3 days later. But Jayne said his final days had been brightened no end by his visit from Victor the horse. “When they told me that a horse was coming to visit Dad, I thought that maybe he would be able to see the animal from his balcony. I had no idea he would be able to get so close. But that’s what the hospice is all about, going the extra mile. People can be fearful of the word ‘hospice’, unless you know better, like we do now. I see North Devon Hospice as a really positive place where we were all so well looked after. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

The Big Raffle Be in with a chance of winning £5,000, a nights stay for you and a loved one at the fabulous Kentisbury Grange or £250 cash in the 'Big Raffle.’

If you’ve received this newsletter in the post, then you will already have received 2 books of tickets to get you underway. If you need us to send you tickets – or you would like us to send you more to sell, please contact our Fundraising Team on 01271 344248 or email fundraising@northdevonhospice.org.uk All the money raised from the ‘Big Raffle’ comes straight to us, so please if you can, get behind this year’s raffle – and who knows, you could be a winner! Thanks to our main sponsor, Brewer Harding and Rowe Solicitors.

The Big Raffle will be drawn on Saturday 20th Jan 2018 at 3.00pm in Banburys, Barnstaple.

SPONSORED BY

We were thrust into a world we knew nothing about!

After many years spent living in Surrey, Doug and Anne relocated to Torrington in 1992, taking in the beautiful Devonshire countryside, fresh air and slower pace of life.

Anne worked as a children’s social worker for Devon County Council and Doug continued his career as a sound engineer.

Anne told us “We were enjoying the quieter roads with people just having time for us which was so different from where we came from. Even getting stuck behind a tractor was a pleasant experience.”

It was two years ago when Anne began to experience back pain and was referred 4

to Torrington hospital. Tests revealed that Anne had ovarian cancer. She told us “It was a complete shock and we were filled with fear about what was going to happen next. We were suddenly thrust into a world we knew nothing about and were left with so many questions. We didn’t know how our lives were going to pan out. We went from both working to neither of us working at all. We had sudden huge adjustments that were happening both socially and financially.

Some of our friends drifted away because they didn’t know what to say or as if it was something you could catch. We also needed to make work changes. It was an awful time for us both and we didn’t know where to turn for help.”

Anne and Doug were referred to North Devon Hospice and received support from the community nurses. “The hospice nurses were fantastic. Keely

helped me sort out my medication which made me feel much better straight away and we also got some great advice on what financial support we were entitled to. She liaised with my doctor and worked hard to get everything in place. Keely was like a whirlwind - she helped us turn everything around from what was an impossible situation for us.”

Two years on Anne now attends The Long House where she is receiving support

spent the session receiving a facial and manicure and also had reflexology. Doug said “Anne really benefits from these sessions and has really enjoyed it today.

I’ve also had reflexology and a massage which is so good. I also got offered a facial, but with my beard, I don’t think it’s quite going to work!”

- and husband Doug has been attending a patient support group at the hospice in Barnstaple. Doug told us “I was very sceptical about it at first and didn’t really want to go. I thought it was going to be all namby pamby. It was incredible though. I got to meet other people who were going through an identical journey to the one we were going through and a world of support just opened up to us. The hospice has been doing what it does for years but for us, we were in the dark - it’s all been

so very helpful and I continue to go to the patient support group every week.

He added “Anne is now on her third cycle of chemotherapy and she gets very tired.

I’ve been freelancing which has been really handy juggling everything around Anne’s illness. My cooking skills have improved and I do a lot of the food shopping now.”

Doug and Anne continue to be supported by the hospice and most recently attended a wellbeing day at The Long House. Anne

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Keely was like a whirlwind. She helped us turn everything around from what was an impossible situation for us. Anne, patient at The Long House

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Doug and Anne at The Long House

Both Anne and Doug hope to continue using the hospice’s services. Doug said “It’s fantastic that not only does Anne get great support which has been invaluable, but the wider family are also supported.

As a carer, you are also thrown into a really stressful situation which I wasn’t prepared for. It’s great that the hospice is also able to provide such great support for people like me as a carer. We are so very grateful.”

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My Mum’s strength through Motor Neurone Disease Patricia was a year into retirement and fully enjoying life until she was taken into hospital following the sudden loss of feeling around her mouth and being unable to speak.

Early indications pointed to Patricia having had a stroke, but later tests revealed that she had motor neurone disease and was given a prognosis of only 3 years to live.

What made things worse for Patricia was that her right hip later gave way and she is now confined to a wheelchair when she goes out.

Patricia, a retired hairdresser and beautician from Holsworthy was referred to The Long House in Holsworthy, which is run

by North Devon Hospice, for patients and their families facing a life limiting illness.

Using an iPad to communicate she told 6

Martin pictured with his mum, Patricia

us “I was enjoying my retirement and was looking forward to focussing on some of my hobbies. I loved knitting, was in the Women’s Institute and loved watching quizzes on TV – particularly Countdown.

The illness came as a shock to both me and my family but staff at The Long House have been fantastic. Today I’m attending a relaxation day and I’ve enjoyed a massage, reflexology, had a facial and also had my nails done. It makes such a positive difference to me.”

number of sessions that are available for both patients and their carers. He told us “Through the hospice, we’ve been able to attend loads of sessions. We’ve been on a ‘Making Memories’ workshop, ‘Mindfulness’ course, ‘Dealing with Stress and Anxiety’ session and have also attended a carers workshop. So often a carer gets overlooked, but the hospice has been great. I’ve also enjoyed a massage and reflexology session – it’s made such a difference to my overall wellbeing.”

Since her illness Patricia has been looked after by her 33 year old son Martin, who has given up work to become her full time carer. Martin has also attended a

Martin added “I’m really proud of my Mum. She has such strength and determination and has received so much help from the

hospice. It would be shocking if this place was not here in the future because it’s made such a difference to my Mum and has helped so many other people including myself. I know my Mum will eventually die, but it’s good to know that the hospice will continue supporting me with bereavement counselling.”

Volunteers find love Volunteers John and Sylvia

Patricia remains comforted by the support she is receiving at the hospice and summing up the help she has received, wrote on her iPad - “lovely here, you are made so welcome.”

Little did John and Sylvia know that a chance meeting while volunteering for North Devon Hospice would lead to a happy relationship still going strong four years later. But that is exactly what happened when the pair met at the North Devon Show in 2013.

They had volunteered to help out on the hospice’s stand, got chatting during the day and, as John says, “The rest is history.”

Patricia using her iPad as a communication tool

It was Sylvia’s determination to make John laugh during their first day of meeting that sparked their conversations. The couple

had both previously been supported by the hospice. John lost his wife in 2004 while Sylvia also lost her husband in the same year. John told us “I attended bereavement counselling at the hospice, which I found really beneficial.”

Sylvia added “When my husband died of cancer, I realised just what the hospice had to offer. We were supported at home by one of the hospice’s Community Nurses.

They really do help you in every way possible.” The couple were both keen to give something back after the support they had received and started volunteering for the hospice. “I get a real sense of achievement helping other people. It’s a good feeling” said John.

We can't guarantee love but if you would like to volunteer with us please contact Sue Friend,Volunteer Coordinator on 01271 344248.

Thank you: We would not

be able to provide the care we do without the incredible dedication and generosity of more than 550 volunteers

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Get set for multi-coloured mayhem Colour Me Happy Sunday 17th September Victoria Park, Bideford, 10.30am SPONSORED BY

A night under the stars - and a well-deserved glass of bubbly!

More than 1,300 ladies lit up the Tarka Trail and Tamar Lakes in June for the 10th anniversary of Nightwalk. Walkers joined together with the aim of raising £100k to allow our nurses to continue providing care to patients throughout the night.

Head of Fundraising, Ali Hunt said “It was a fantastic atmosphere and it was good to see people having so much fun. We would like to thank all of our sponsors - and encourage anyone who still needs to send in sponsorship to return this as soon as they can.”

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We’re inviting you to walk, dance, skip or run 3k through a spectacular sea of colour at our latest family-friendly event.

It’s time to have some fun and get colourful.

We’re putting on a bigger and better event than ever before and not only will people get blasted with colour on our course, we will be putting on musical entertainment with The Voice Roadshow and Latin rhythms from Samba Baia. There will be an energetic warm-up dance routine, fun inflatables and stalls with glitter tattoos and hair feathering - plus Hocking’s will be offering their special flavoured ice cream.

We’re hoping that the event will raise £20,000 to help us continue supporting children and families who have been bereaved, in North Devon.

All money raised will directly help us to continue our counselling service, complementary therapy sessions, wellbeing days, art therapies and bereavement support groups at a difficult time in people’s lives. So come on North Devon, have a great day out and let’s ensure that we can continue to support families in our community that need our support.

Register to take part today at northdevonhospice.org.uk/events

SUNDAY 15th OCTOBER, NORTH MOLTON SPORTS CLUB Have you got what it takes to tackle our 34 obstacle commando challenge course at Mission:Unbreakable?

We’re looking for 600 people to step up to the plate for our fastest growing fundraising event. Participants will need to earn their medals this year by taking on our new headline challenge ‘Sky Fall’ by wriggling upside down suspended over a pool of ice cold water – fall in at your peril. If that doesn’t stop you, maybe the Ranger Climb, Sheep Dip or one of the other 31 obstacles will trip you up...

Our Clinical Nurse Specialists and Hospice to Home nurses travelled over 70,000 miles last year to support our patients who needed support at home.

Could you go 10k for us?

Supporting the event are 24 Commando.

They will be on hand to encourage you through the Mission:Unbreakable course.

Hospice Events Manager, Gerard Fawcitt said “Our Clinical Nurse Specialists and Hospice to Home nurses travelled over 70,000 miles last year to support our patients who needed support at home.

This year we are asking you to run our 10k course and, if you can, raise a minimum of £50 so that our nurses can continue to put in the miles this year supporting patients and their families facing a life limiting illness.”

Why not grab your mates together and do something amazing for North Devon Hospice? It will all be worth it when you’re holding your medal on the finishing line!

Sign up online at northdevonhospice.org.uk/events HEADLINE SPONSOR

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‘We’ve had marvellous care and support, we feel like we can ask Lin absolutely anything’ When Marion was given no more than 18 months to live following a lung cancer diagnosis, life took a dramatic change; not only for her, but also for her husband, Stanley.

Marion, 71, had been back and forth to hospital after initially developing a cough which she couldn’t get rid of. Following an initial X-ray, she was later diagnosed with lung cancer and began radiotherapy treatment. Her sessions have since been placed on hold due to Marion not feeling well enough for it to continue.

The couple were then referred to North Devon Hospice’s Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) team and are currently being looked after by one of our nurses Lin Walkey.

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Marion tells us "Lin has been absolutely marvellous. It's made us feel a lot more confident with everything we’re going through right now. It feels great that Lin is on the end of the phone. She really cares and it’s taken so much of the stress away for us both. Lin is bubbly and has great charisma, you can ask her absolutely anything. It’s made us so much more confident in facing this illness."

Following her latest visit to see Marion and Stanley, Lin said “We spent time today talking through their concerns. It’s been a tough time for them both. Marion is struggling to breathe properly and this is affecting her ability to get up the stairs to bed, she also has difficulty in sleeping properly. We have talked this all through today and I will arrange for an occupational therapist to visit to help with her breathing difficulties and arrange for her to have some levers to support her getting

in and out of bed. Marion’s ankles are also very swollen and we’ve talked about the importance of regularly keeping her feet up. I’m also concerned for Stanley as he’s been getting really tired and is feeling stressed. We've talked this through and we've been able to address some of his concerns today."

Marion also spent time with Lin talking through her dying wishes which was something that Marion really wanted to discuss.

She said “I’ve sorted my funeral songs and prayer list out. I don’t want to die at home and would ideally like to die with good support at the hospice."

Marion’s husband, Stanley continues to support Marion and was full of praise for the hospice. He said “It’s great that the hospice is on the end of the phone, it gives us so much confidence to know we can speak to them at any moment. Lin’s support today has been marvellous and nothing is too much trouble for her. We’ve had brilliant care and support, we feel like we can ask Lin absolutely anything – it’s made such a positive difference to us."

For more information about the care and support available from North Devon Hospice, visit our website www.northdevonhospice.org.uk or call us on 01271 344248.

Leaving a gift in your will allows us to continue our work into the future Did you know that we are heavily reliant on the generosity of people leaving us a gift in their will?

A quarter of the income we need to raise in charitable income each year is generated from the kindness of people leaving a gift for us in their will.

Head of Care, Keely Dempsey said “We are grateful for anyone who is able to support us in this way – so that we can continue to be there for anyone who needs us across North Devon in the future. We need to raise over £4.5 million each and every year in charitable income alone – and it’s not easy getting there! We know that the demand for our care is only going to increase over the next 20 years and we also know that with an ageing population, more people are going to have complex illnesses which will mean an even greater need for our services.

People who are able to leave us a gift in their will make a huge difference well into the future, helping to support many other people facing a life limiting illness.

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Dates for your diary

Open Gardens

ALL YEAR

Do you have a stunning Autumn garden, a snowdrop valley in Spring, a bluebell wood or a Summer rose arbor that you could open to the public in support of the hospice in 2017/18? Get in touch with us below.

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Mission: Unbreakable

OCT

Join us for our greatest challenge - 10k of mud, marsh, rivers and gruesome obstacles! Be a hero for us and sign up today!

OCT

Test your knowledge with a fabulous quiz, 7pm. £20 per head includes a 2 course meal. Teams of 4.

at the Durrant House Hotel 11am-12.45pm. What better way to get into the Christmas spirit?

Durrant House Hotel, Northam, Bideford

Victoria Park, Bideford

Holsworthy Coffee Morning

25 OCT

Coffee morning in aid of The Long House Outreach Centre. All welcome.

Holsworthy Memorial Hall, Holsworthy, North Devon

Park Hotel, Barnstaple North Molton Sports Club

Christmas Fayre

Walk, dance, skip or run North Devon's most spectacularly colourful 3k route. Starts 10.30am, for all ages.

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Park Hotel Quiz

23 Nov

Colour Me Happy

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SEPT

DEC Light Up a Life

Celebrate the memory of a loved one this Christmas.

Check our website for dates of Light Up A Life services throughout December

Pitch in a Pound

09 FEB

We’re inviting local workplaces, schools and groups across North Devon to ‘Pitch in a Pound’ for the hospice. Get in touch for more info.

Various places in North Devon

Appledore Book Festival

23 SEP

Big Breakfast

OCT MAR

23-30 September. Why not come along to the book festival and enjoy a light lunch, tea or cake in aid of us.

Enjoy the most important meal of the day while raising vital funds for your local hospice.

Cafe at St Mary’s Hall Appledore

Visit our website for details of Big Breakfast events near you

Royal and Fortescue Quiz

26 OCT

Sky Dive

27 OCT

Put your knowledge to the test, 7pm. £20 per head includes a 2 course meal.

Teams of 4.

27 - 28 October (or a date to suit you.) Experience the ultimate thrill by taking on a skydive challenge for North Devon Hospice.

Royal & Fortescue, Barnstaple

Dunkeswell Airfield, Honiton

Would you like to volunteer at our fundraising events?

Would you like to support us by joining a Friends Group?

If you’d like to be part of the fantastic team that make our events a success, please give us a call on 01271 347204. We have a variety of roles available.

Make new friends and have fun whilst helping the hospice to provide care and support for all the family. Please give us a call on 01271 347204.

To view our full calendar of events visit www.northdevonhospice.org.uk. To speak to our Fundraising Team call 01271 347204 North Devon Hospice, Deer Park, Barnstaple, EX32 0HU Tel: 01271 344248 Email info@northdevonhospice.org.uk

Registered charity number 286554