"Comfort and understanding in the darkest hour"

My sister spent the last number of months in the exceptional care of North West Hospice in Sligo earlier this year. Prior to her admission she received care from the hospice home support community team. I wanted to use the platform of 'Care Opinion' to acknowledge my unending gratitude for the care, compassion and support provided to my wonderful sister Helen, and the reassurance and comfort it created for all of our family. There is no doubt that every member of the hospice team (including those who volunteer) go above and beyond their roles with a genuine warmth and respect for the patients and their families. 

My experience is not unique. I know in our community that the experiences people share when they have been been supported by the hospice is one of immense gratitude and comfort. At a time when patients and families are experiencing deep sadness, uncertainty and fear, the hospice  provide an understanding, a reassurance and it instills hope even when a situation is filled with despair and when life is overwhelming for all those the hospice supports.

 The 'Hospice' is not just 'staff'. It is also the 'building'; it is the 'gardens'; it is the 'volunteers'; it is the 'donkeys'; it is the 'food' provided by 'local businesses', the 'chaplains', the 'cleaning staff', those who come in to make a patient look and feel beautiful; the 'volunteer drivers'; 'Sligo Cancer Centre'.  All of these things encompass what  the 'hospice' represents. The 'hospice' is not just a place. It is an 'experience' that is much more than the sum of its parts. 

It has taken me time to share my experience here as any reminders of my sister has felt so painful since she died. But I wanted to find someway to thank the hospice for all it has gifted me.  Of course I wish nothing more then to never have needed to meet a member of the palliative care team or to  step foot inside those hospice doors. But I did and I just feel so grateful that during the most difficult part of my sister's illness, the hospice were there to support and hold all of us on the difficult journey we endured.

Where there was uncertainty, there was reassurance.  

Where there was doubt, there was answers.

Where there was lonelilness, there was connection.

Where there was hunger or thirst, there was always a cuppa. 

Where there was despair, there was hope.

Always Hope

To all of the hospice 'whatever part of it you are'. I thank you. You made a very difficult part of my life, as easy as it could possibly be. 

Keep doing all you are and all that you represent.

With gratitude and love,