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In August, 2005, my father was diagnosed with bowel cancer, aged 56. At first the diagnosis was a positive one, with the high prospect of making a full recovery after a rather extensive operation and a course of chemotherapy. During his recovery from his operation, he relapsed, and had to have emergency surgery at the end of October. To help him with his recovery, it was decided that he would be more comfortable in the adjoining hospice. As he settled in, we as his family were always made to feel welcome, and allowed to visit, or stay whenever we wanted to. As his condition began to worsen, the support care were fantastic not just for us but for my dad also. He was always encouraged to go for small walks every day, or to go outside to enjoy the garden. As it became apparent that his stay would be longer than expected, he was given a bigger room, with a separate door to the garden, and more room for family to stay in there with him on particularly bad days. We were all made to feel like the hospice was our home as much as it was his, and at Christmas, my two sisters and I decorated his room, and spent as much time with him as possible, making close friends with the nurses, creating a family within the hospice. Christmas day was made to feel happy and festive even though deep down we knew this could have been our last together. 

 

 

A few weeks later on the 6 of January, my dad, Richard Cannings passed away, just under 4 months from his initial diagnosis. He would always mention the hospice and their efforts with him, how well they looked after him, and with his stubborn traits and his endearing personality, there was always the mention of coming home and helping the hospice in the future.  Sadly this was not to be, so after 6 painful years without him, I want to do this not only for the hospice, but also for my dad. Anything you can do to help, whether its £1 or £20, I will be running the Bristol Half Marathon on the 30 of September, raising money for Salisbury Hospice Care, and in doing so, keeping the memory of my amazing dad alive, and helping this amazing hospice help others like him, and also my family. Thank you.....