Seamus shared his experience before he passed
FORMER Sligo Champion Editor Seamus Finn (pictured right) who sadly passed away last September made a short film before he died about his experience of the Hospice.
According to Communication Manager Bernadette McGarvey the proud Sligo native wanted this to be shared after his passing. In its latest Newsletter for 2018, his story is reproduced and the video has been uploaded to the North West Hospice Website.
“Seamus was very happy with the end product and was a very positive advocate for the hospice and did this to help raise our profile,” explains Bernadette.
In the production, Seamus says: “I was 70 at Christmas. I have had so many brushes with cancer that I have lost count. I think I was first diagnosed in 2006. I had prostate cancer, I had colon cancer, I had some other kind of cancer... I lost track! I put it all out of my head. I do not want cancer to control my life.”
He explains that the first time he encountered the hospice was when his wife Sheila was stricken by cancer: “The amount of support she was able to get in the Hospice in terms of pain control and control of medication was just tremendous. I have had many an occasion when outside office hours, I needed some advice.
“It was such a reassuring thing to know you could make that phone call day or night, around the clock, every day of the week, every night of the week. The Hospice is there and that is reassuring for my family who are abroad.
“Because I live alone I think they are constantly worried, being on your own is another issue. They are reassured that I can make that call and get that help even though they are not here.”
In the footage Seamus stresses the excellent service on offer: “It’s a fantastic, coordinated service from the oncology unit, to Hospice palliative care, to the community outreach team. They all combine together and the main purpose of their existence is to give you a quality of life, make your life a little bit easier and get you back on your feet if possible. They have done that for me and they did it for my wife before.
“Without those people, we the cancer patients simply could not exist with the same level of comfort.
“One of the most wonderful things about the Hospice is their ability to call to your house. They will discuss your problem, go through your medication, sort out the amount you are taking and how often.
And if you have to go to the Hospice for an overnight stay it is not the end of the world, it is not what you think it is. You are going to be treated spectacularly well.
“Let’s face it, nobody can stop cancer but by God these people they do their best.”