8 Apr 2016 Personal Stories

Angela’s Story

Chris Blackburn was admitted to Kirkwood Hospice on several occasions after being diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in November 2013. His wife, Angela, reflects on how the Hospice helped Chris during this time…

“A few months into Chris’s diagnosis, he was in constant pain. It was very difficult to witness him in such discomfort. I knew we couldn’t go on like this, so I rang the hospital. They put us in contact with a community nursing specialist from Kirkwood.

“We never really knew about Kirkwood before this. There is a perception out there that a hospice is just a place where people go to die, so our initial feelings about seeing someone from Kirkwood were of fear. However, we needn’t have worried.

“When Chris was admitted to the Hospice for the first time, the wonderful staff got his pain under control and made him comfortable. The Hospice team really made an effort to get to know Chris, spending a lot of time talking to him and making sure everything was okay.

“As his condition progressed, Chris was re-admitted to Kirkwood a number of times to receive pain relief. Sometimes his stay would last two or three days, other times it would be for a week. Each time he was admitted, his pain was managed to ensure he was as comfortable as possible.

“Chris was a very proud man and the Hospice ensured that his dignity remained intact until
the very end.” Angela Blackburn

“On one occasion, our grandson, Noah, came to visit us during the school holidays. Noah was the apple of Chris’s eye – the two of them were inseparable.

“Chris was very poorly and down at the time and had been admitted to the Hospice again. We weren’t sure how Noah would react to visiting the Hospice, so the staff arranged for Chris to be transported to a friend’s café in Mirfield so that he could see

Noah. Chris spent around an hour with Noah that day and was like a different person afterwards. He had a spring in his step. It was lovely to see, and it was all made possible by the Hospice staff.

“Chris felt completely at home at the Hospice. He would sit outside in the beautiful gardens when the weather was nice and he found it liberating that he could get up at 2am and make himself a drink. He was able to do what he wanted, when he wanted. He said that if he couldn’t be at home, the Hospice was the next best place.

“Chris was a very proud man and the Hospice ensured that his dignity remained intact until the very end. He was always able to have a shower and a shave when he wanted. The staff would help if he wasn’t strong enough to do this on his own. That meant so much to him.

“Chris chose to die at the Hospice when the time came. He died peacefully and free of pain with all of his family around him.”

Angela is taking part in the Sunflower Memories Appeal this June to support Kirkwood and to celebrate Chris’s life. If you would like to celebrate loved ones this summer, you can find out more about the Appeal here