Barbara’s story

We helped Barbara spend precious moments with her family.

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Barbara and her husband John worked in the construction industry for many years. John as a joiner and Barbara as a comptometer operator from the age of 15 to 50.

Her expertise in checking expenditure and material quantities was highly sought after and meant Barbara was never short of work. McAlpine, her employer, was building the motorway network during her time there and Barbara helped to keep their finances on track when just a small error could add thousands of pounds to the cost. It also meant Barbara could always find employment during several periods of living overseas.

As a couple Barbara and John loved caravanning and spent many happy times taking their van throughout the UK and Europe. They also spent two years living in Ontario, Canada and ten in years in Spain before Barbara’s home sickness brought them back to the UK.

Sadly, Barbara became unwell with a cancer diagnosis and complications with her gall bladder.

She was supported at home by our Palliative Care Nurse Specialists and Hospice at Home team. But as she was struggling to eat and drink it was decided that the best course of action was for her to gain further support from our nursing team at the hospice.

Seeing an improvement

With the help of our specialist team and a change in medication Barbara began to see a big difference.

“After the first day, you just wouldn’t believe it, it was like a miracle. After I got my medication sorted and being able to eat, it’s made a million times difference to me.”

Barbara’s improvement was also a huge relief to John.

“I could see Barbara going, just taking a nosedive, just going down, just ebbing away really, so that … was brilliant. It brought her back to life.”

With a great improvement in her appetite Barbara enjoyed specially prepared meals at the hospice and also loved the relaxing benefits of complementary therapy treatments from our expert therapist.

Sadly Barbara passed away in 2023 but the care she received from us meant that she was able to spend precious last moments with her husband, family and friends.

“Yes … it’s absolutely brilliant. People … here are really lovely, they really are … it’s absolutely wonderful to go from last Friday to what I was to what I am now, it’s just unbelievable.”