07 Mar Farleigh Hospice celebrates 40 years of care
A hospice in Chelmsford is taking its supporters back to 1982 in its latest fundraising appeal.
Farleigh Hospice is celebrating its 40th birthday this year and has launched a special fundraising appeal to mark this milestone event.
The appeal hits doorsteps and inboxes this week, and asks supporters to join with Farleigh staff in remembering the last 40 years by sharing their own special memories of the hospice, along with a donation to help secure the future of its care.
The memories will be displayed on a dedicated online celebration page farleighhospice.org/40–memories, as well as in various locations across the local community between March and May 2022.
The appeal highlights how the hospice does more than provide end of life care. Farleigh’s care teams work hard to create special memories for families during the time their loved ones are with them.
Families like the McCaigues. Bobby McCaigue was referred to Farleigh in 2021 for palliative care. Bobby 32, is a Royal Engineer attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade, and was diagnosed with an astrocytoma, brain tumour in 2019.
Bobby and his wife Najette, along with their son, Harrison, and daughter Teagan, are being supported by Farleigh both at home, and in its inpatient unit (IPU) to optimise Bobby’s symptom control.
As part of this, Farleigh makes it a priority to ensure the family spends quality time together and that they make special memories during this time. The most memorable being a Zoom call with British astronaut Major Tim Peake.
Bobby and his son Harrison are fans of all things space related. Bobby shared with his care team that one of the items on his wish list was to visit the Leicester Space Centre. Sadly, this was not possible due to limitations to his mobility, so the team decided to bring space to Bobby in the IPU. Farleigh organised for Tim to ‘zoom’ into the hospice for a video chat with Bobby and his family to talk about space and life in the military.
Bobby said: “It was such a privilege to speak to Tim. He was fascinating to talk to. We are so grateful to Farleigh for making this special moment happen! This experience and the care we have received both during our inpatient stay and from the hospice at home team is outstanding. Thank you so much! I will never forget the kindness shown by the staff to me and my family, they have supported us through the toughest time.”
Farleigh Hospice Physiotherapist, Sally Davis said: “This was a lovely experience for the family and a special memory was most certainly made. We are really grateful to Tim for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to do this for them. It is a privilege to offer our support to Bobby and his family, and we are so glad that we were able to make this wish happen. Our role is more than just symptom control and pain management, it’s our job to put life into days – to make sure that patients and their families get the most from the time that they have left together.”
To share a memory and to donate to the Farleigh Hospice 40th birthday appeal visit farleighhospice.org/40-memories or call 01245 457351.
