This Christmas, we urgently need your help to provide comfort and care to families during life’s hardest moments. Your gift to our We Care Christmas Appeal will be matched—doubling your impact for local families.
Our In-Patient Unit is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, even on Christmas Day. For those in our care, this time of year can be especially difficult. But with your support, we can ensure that patients and their loved ones can make the most of their time together, surrounded by care and comfort.
With rising costs and unprecedented demand, we need your help now more than ever to ensure our services are there for free for those who need it.
With your help, we can continue to care for local people who need us this Christmas. A donation today, no matter the size, will make twice the impact and help ensure that local families receive the compassionate care they deserve.
“The Hospice isn’t somewhere you come to die, it’s a place you come to live.” Peter, IPU patient
Steve & Vicky’s Story
Steve and Vicky were a young couple who were madly in love and enjoyed spending all their spare time with each other.
Steve was someone who didn’t like to go to the Doctors. He began complaining of stomach pain in June 2023 and knew he had to seek help. Steve’s pain became so unbearable that he was admitted to A&E.
After many tests, Steve was told the pain, which was previously thought to be due to his appendix, was due to Cancer.
With hope that the Cancer would be treatable, Steve and Vicky decided to get married. This was something they had always wanted to do, and now felt like the right time to do it. Just a day after making this decision, it became clear that Steve did not have much time left. With swift response of those around them and the help of Hospital volunteers, friends and family were called and the wedding went ahead at the hospital that same day. Shortly after their wedding, Steve was moved to Weston Hospicecare to receive specialist care in the In-Patient Unit.
Steve and Vicky were met at the hospice by Weston Hospicecare nurses who had decorated his room beautifully in celebration of their recent wedding. Despite the celebration and decorations, Steve was most taken aback by the space he had in his bathroom!
A lifelong sports fan, Steve loved all sport, but in particular football. With help from Leeds Football Club, the Weston Hospicecare team were able to provide Steve with a congratulatory video from footballer Joe Gelhardt, something Vicky will treasure forever.
Now in the comfort of their own room, Steve and Vicky were able to share their final nights together in the calm environment of the hospice, sharing a cuddle bed so they didn’t have to be apart.
On the 11th July 2023, just 13 days after being diagnosed with Cancer, Steve died peacefully at Weston Hospicecare aged just 28 years old.
Vicky has praised the support and care from Weston Hospicecare, sharing: “Steve felt comfortable and relaxed by the peace and quiet of the hospice.”
Vicky was also able to access support during Steve’s time at the hospice and continues to do so, knowing that the Weston Hospicecare Team are here for her as she needs them.
