A story about a chair!

Most of us would have sat beside someone we love in a hospital or a hospice at some time over the years, some of us would have slept in those beside chairs, wanting to remain as close as we could be to the one we love in their time of pain and despair.

I remember my mum’s hospice chair with fondness, it offered Peter, Paul, Naomi and me, at some point during mum's time at the hospice, the chance to recline in the early hours but, more importantly it gave my mum the chance to move from bed to chair and vice versa.

Somewhere she could sit and feel normal when family came to visit.

You would not think that a simple chair could do so much for so many people, but it does.

It moves easily so hospice patients can get up with hopefully less pain, it turns around so they can see out the window or it reclines flat so they can take a snooze. It enables them to sit up and eat their dinner, drink a tea or just pass the time away looking out of the window at the birds.

The hospice have let us know that they need more chairs, so I’m hoping you will help us raise some much-needed funds for this worthy cause!

A year ago today, on Sunday 30th October, we lost Christine, our mum, nanny and best friend and over the past year we've all discovered grief never leaves you.

All of our lives are a lot quieter without mum, there's a deafening silence where she once was.

She’s kept alive by our memories together and we speak about her to her grandchildren everyday in the hope she hears us and is somehow still on this journey with us - backstage - I like to think :-)

It was a traumatic time in the three months leading up to mum’s final days and one memory etched in our minds is the great care and phenomenal kindness shown by everyone who worked at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice in St Austell.

When my brother and I drove mum, on what we know now would be her final journey, to the hospice, the welcome was unexplainable, we felt as though we arrived and were instantly all supported and comforted by the wonderful team there until mum's passing.

They carried us all for that final part of mum’s journey.

From the volunteers to the chefs, nurses and doctors, their immense kindness and great care, love and affection ensured our mum feel secure and well looked after, it’s something we will all never forget.

The hospice has continued to support us following mum’s death with their amazing counselling service. Having someone to talk to each week who works in the hospice enabled me to make some sense of what had happened.

Now’s the time to pay that kindness forward.

Peter, mum’s partner and all of us Kitleys including mum’s grandchildren Jayden, Neve, Jake and Sylvia, Henry & Matthew will be participating in ‘Mum’s Walk’ on Easter Saturday 30th March 2024. We will walk from Pendennis Castle to Meanporth Beach in Falmouth and back again – trekking a total of 10k!

Our aim is for all people living with a terminal illness in Cornwall to be able to access the care & support they may need at the time & in the place that is right for them & their families.

Cornwall Hospices aspire to deliver the highest possible quality care & support to their patients & their families. They strive to develop & secure the resources necessary to achieve this, both now & in the future. With only 20% of their funding coming from Cornwall's NHS Commissioners, the rest is raised with the support of the people of Cornwall and beyond.