27 Dec 2018 Community

Christmas at Kirkwood: Lyndsey’s Story

Christmas is a very special time of year for all families, but particularly for those receiving care at the end of life. Our teams at Kirkwood make sure to go the extra mile to ensure that our patients and their families have the best quality time together possible, and make special memories each Christmas.

Meet Lyndsey. Lyndsey has been working at Kirkwood for over four years as the North Kirklees Community Fundraiser. Kirkwood holds a special place in Lyndsey’s heart as she initially began volunteering her time to give back after the care her Grandma received at the end of her life. Now, as an employee of Kirkwood, Christmas is a very important time for Lyndsey as she sees how special this time of year is for families when volunteering her time on Christmas Day. This is Lyndsey’s story:

“One of my most special memories about volunteering here on Christmas Day was that I actually witnessed a family all sitting together, having Christmas dinner on the In-Patient Unit. The lady was actually able to sit with the family, the nurses actually managed to get her up and she was well enough to sit down and enjoy her Christmas dinner.

“There was about 8 or 10 of them and they were all squeezed together on the table and laughing and joking and having a glass of wine together and it was such a normal moment that for me, witnessing that made me realise what an amazing place it is here that we are able to make Christmas so special and normal and we really did achieve that for that family. It was really nice to be a part of their memories on Christmas Day.

 “At a time like Christmas when we all love to spend time with our loved ones and the people that are closest too us, for me, the Hospice is such an important part of my life that on Christmas Day I like to come down and see the patients and see the families and see the staff and really be a part of that day with the people who are here. And also, try and make it as special for them as we possibly can.

“I think volunteering at the Hospice as well as being so privileged to actually work here in the role that I have, in my time as a volunteer I got such a sense of giving something back and making such a big difference and a real lovely feeling about being able to share special moments with families.

“Often, the people who are staying at the Hospice are very poorly and it’s a very difficult time for the families to witness that. But I think what we do so well here is we try and normalise things as much as possible and add those special things in which we’re fortunate enough to do at Christmas.”