I have put myself out there and signed myself up for Strictly Francis House Charity Event Evening. I'm taking on the challenge of learning over a few lessons a choreographed dance alongside a professional dancer to participate with 9 other performers for the glitter ball. My succes in this challenge will mostly be based on applying those few years of Irish dancing lessons I took up to the age of 8 years to stand a chance of completing the performance.

Why am I doing this....

I've  worked as a nurse for near to 20 years this summer. In my career as a nurse I have worked in various settings meeting the needs of children and adults in my care. 

I made the decision to leave the NHS six years ago after finding work fatigue was starting to impact my home life whilst being a mum to my three young children.

Leaving the NHS was a massive change but not long after settling in at Francis House Children's Hospice I began to realise it was the best decision I could have made.

Francis House Children's hospice promotes best possible quality of life care for children, young people and their families whom have a life limiting illness. It offers support to families in the decision making when approaching the end stages of life with dignity and respect. It offers bereavement support for families once their loved one had died and continues supporting the families for as long as they need it.

Francis House as always been driven towards meeting the needs of the families they care for and that was really show cased in my opinion as a nurse within the team when the pandemic hit, COVID-19. Francis House changed its approach to meeting the needs of the families overnight and families turned to Francis House Children's hospice for support when they felt isolated at home caring for their loved one with limited support in their communities.

Since the pandemic I have witnessed first hand how much Francis House Children's Hopsice goes above and  beyond to meet the needs of the families in their care. The service continues to evolve to meet the ongoing needs of the families and new referrals that are generated.

Francis House Children's Hospice is a wonderful organisation to work and be part of and now I feel its my turn to do something to help support its ongoing growth and development to continue doing all the great work it has achieved so far.