19 Nov 2025 Care

One Last Christmas Together

When David Woodward remembers Christmas 2024, it will forever be the one that changed everything. It was the last Christmas he shared with his beloved wife, Nicola, and their three children, Olivia, 18, Jake, 14, and Thomas, 11. A time that could have been filled with fear and sadness instead became a season of love and togetherness, filled with precious memories

The Kirkwood surrounded the Woodwards with care that went far beyond medical support. Our hospice team helped the family to enjoy the festive period together, filling every moment with compassion and joy. In the most difficult of circumstances, we gave them the gift of time; time to laugh, to love, and to say goodbye.

When David thinks of that Christmas, it’s not the presents that come to mind. It’s the smile he saw on Nicola’s face when meeting the cast of the local Pantomime, the twinkling lights from the tree in our gardens – which Jake and Thomas loved so much – and the comforting sound of carols drifting through the hospice corridors early one evening.

David and Nicola built a life filled with love after meeting more than twenty years ago. “She was one of those people who filled a room,” David said, smiling. “Bubbly, funny, never still for five minutes. Everyone loved her. I’m quieter, happy in the background, but she made friends everywhere she went. She adored being a Mum. She was the centre of everything, the best person I’ve ever known.”

Nicola became ill in 2020. What started as back pain was eventually diagnosed as secondary breast cancer that had spread to her bones. For a while, chemotherapy helped, but by 2023 the cancer had spread to her brain. 

“I think we knew at that point that it wasn’t good,” David said. “We tried to put a positive spin on it, but in the back of our minds we both knew what was going to happen.”

In early 2024, they went to see the Oncologist. David remembers Nicola was terrified. “She was petrified to go into the office,” David recalled. “That’s when the doctor told us the chemo was working fine on her breast and bone cancer but that the brain cancer was spreading. Then he told us they were going to stop the treatment and that the cancer might progress now.”

As the year went on, caring for Nicola became increasingly difficult for David. After one fall, David realised he could no longer manage alone. Soon after, a nurse from The Kirkwood began visiting.

“The nurse was absolutely lovely. She talked to us about what we wanted to happen in the future. Where did Nicola want to be cared for. At home? In the hospice?

“Nicola was torn between being at home or going to The Kirkwood. The nurse was amazing, and something she said really stayed with us: ‘The one thing about staying at home is that the children will always remember your bedroom as the place where Mum passed. If you’re at The Kirkwood, this is still your children’s home.’ That made sense. We wanted our children to remember home as home, not a place of loss.”

On December 7th, Nicola was admitted to the hospice. She arrived during our annual Light Up A Life service. “I remember the tree being lit,” David said. “It brought calm to everything. Nicola settled in quickly after that, it just felt peaceful.”

Our team made sure something special happened almost every day, including a visit from the local panto cast that thrilled Nicola.

On December 14th, The Kirkwood helped the family celebrate Thomas’s 11th birthday. 

“We’d wanted to do something special for Thomas so we spoke to one or two of the nurses about it. They said, ‘Why don’t you have a party here?’.” David remembered.

“The kitchen team made us a small buffet and one of the ladies even made Thomas a birthday cake with the Sunderland badge on it – because he’s Sunderland mad! We had a couple of Thomas’s friends there and Nicky was with us too,” David said. “You don’t usually put hospices and ‘birthday parties’ together, but we really enjoyed it. It was a really good day. And it was an important memory for Thomas. A last birthday with his mum.”

A few days later, Nicola decided she wanted to go on one last shopping trip. “Nicky was adamant that she wanted to buy me and the kids one last Christmas present. She knew it was going to be her last Christmas,” David said. “At the time, we thought ‘Well you’re in here, there’s no chance you’ll be able to go’. But we chatted to the team, and they were just like ‘Yeah, we can help you to do it!’

“The team arranged for her best friend Sam to take her to the White Rose Centre. She bought each of us a stuffed teddy bear; little keepsakes she picked herself. We still have them, they’re priceless.

“That meant a lot to Nicky. It was one of the few things she really wanted to do over Christmas. The Kirkwood team understood that, and everyone came together to make it happen for her.”

On Christmas Eve, Santa visited The Kirkwood, bringing presents and a touch of magic to the Woodward family. “There’s a lovely photo of us. It’s the last photo we’ve got as a family together – with Santa photobombing it!”

As they left Nicola’s room that evening, the sound of festive carols drifting down the corridor drew David and the kids in. Listening to the beautiful music, David paused, reflecting on the moment. “I’m in a hospice on Christmas Eve with the kids, and there’s a massive choir in front of us. You don’t think you’re ever going to be in that situation, but it just felt so personal and special. It didn’t feel like a hospice at all.”

Just six days before Nicola died, our team helped the family share one final Christmas Day meal together, cooked by Nicola’s mum. “The staff set up a table, we put up decorations, and her mum made a full Christmas dinner,” David said. “We had crackers and paper hats. Nicky sat in bed, but she was with us. We were all together. 

“If we’d been at home, it never would’ve happened. The staff made it perfect. It wasn’t medical care; it was something deeper. They gave us a memory we’ll never forget.”

On the 30th of December, everything changed quickly, David remembered. “That morning Nicky was still talking about coming home. But when I came to see her that night, she was really sleepy... Then the nurse told us we should start to call our family. It was a massive shock to the system.”

The family came in, filling the room. Around eight o’clock the following morning, Nicola’s breathing changed. David brought the kids in from a side room. At quarter to ten, with David holding her hand, Nicola finally let go.

“In those moments after she passed, I thought about how The Kirkwood gave us something we could never have had at home – Christmas together,” David said. “They gave Nicky dignity and comfort. They gave our children happy memories in the hardest time of their lives.”

“They didn’t just care for Nicky,” he said. “They cared for all of us. That’s something I’ll never, ever forget. It’s vital we keep this place going. There will be someone else in a similar situation right now – a family going through their last Christmas together. Just knowing The Kirkwood can be here for them will make all the difference.”  

The Kirkwood relies on the generosity of our community to make sure we can continue to care for families like the Woodwards. Your donation today could help another family to share laughter, love, and one last Christmas together.

Make Christmas special for a family like David’s. Please donate today.