Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Dedicate thistle to loved one
St Andrew’s Hospice is asking the people of Monklands to dedicate a “Thanksgiving Thistle”to someone special as part of its first ever summer celebration of life event.
The name of that beloved person will then be inscribed on a wooden thistle which will be planted within a beautiful display in the hospice’s grounds in Airdrie.
Everyone is also invited to attend a thanksgiving service in the hospice grounds on August 19 at 7pm. This event will bring people together in celebration of those who have died.
After the service, people will be invited to collect their dedicated thistle from the display and take it home to keep. The service will also be live streamed online for anyone who cannot attend.
Mark Brady will be dedicating a “Thanksgiving Thistle” to his dad John this summer.
He told the Advertiser: “Our dad was just 59 and had lived with Crohn’s disease for 30 years but then he was diagnosed with cancer.
“When his symptoms became too difficult to control at home, he asked to go to St Andrew’s Hospice as he knew it was where he needed to be and it held no fear for him.
“He was cared for incredibly by the team there. My mum, sister and I were allowed to visit him every single day and we spent the time just being together, talking and sharing memories.
“The nurses looked after him like he was their own family for the few weeks he was there. They gave him the medications he needed to ease his pain – and allowed him to keep his dignity as his strength failed him.
“They gave him a memory board by his bed and there he put up pictures and lists of all the things he loved; he was football mad, so there was a lot of that up there.
“When he died, we were all there with him and it was the most peaceful time. Nothing could have been done to make his journey better; it helped us all knowing that he was in exactly the place he needed to be.
“His name will be on a ‘Thanksgiving Thistle’ outside the hospice this summer
– and we will all be there for the event in August.
“It’ll be a lovely way to say ‘thank you’ – and, importantly, to remember him.”
“Thanksgiving Thistles” and the event are offered to all for free, but if you feel able to make a donation to St Andrew’s Hospice, the team would be “so grateful”.
People can dedicate a “Thanksgiving Thistle” to a loved one at https://www. st-andrews-hospice.com/thanksgivingthistles/