Kentish Express Ashford & District
Hospice wants people to have the conversation about life and death
Pilgrims Hospice has launched a county-wide campaign to encourage people to have ‘The Big Conversation’ about dying.
A series of community events will take place across Kent during Dying Matters week, which runs throughout next week, to support people in talking about living well and end of life.
Holly Cooke, 23, said her family found themselves having The Big Conversation when her dad David was diagnosed with cancer and she believes support from Pilgrims made the difficult conversation easier.
She said: “Dad was fiercely independent and to have that support until the last minute meant so much. He was an incredible man.
“Mum was given advice by the doctors and nurses too, it made such a difference being listened to.”
David Cooke, a keen golfer from Nonington, was cared for by the Ashford Pilgrims Hospice team in his final days.
Holly added: “Everyone he knew was stunned when he got ill because he was such a fit and healthy man.
“When it’s your Dad you don’t know what to do.
“Before he came to the hospice Dad was in crippling pain, it was absolutely awful.
“He first came to the hospice just six months after being diagnosed because he needed expert advice on the pain.
“They were able to give him the right medication to keep him mobile.
“He came for courses of pain management support for over a year and had specialist massages from the Pilgrims complimentary therapist.
“It is definitely down to the care he received early on in his illness that we could do things as a family in that time we had together.”
Annie Hogben, senior nurse manager for Pilgrims, said families like Holly’s highlight the importance of The Big Conver- sation and have inspired the upcoming community events.
She said: “We are so grateful to our Ashford community for all the generous support they showed us.
“Now we are joining hands with GPs, hospitals, community nurses and care homes to raise awareness of how local people with life-limiting illness and their families can access services to help them live every moment well and also how to achieve end of life wishes.
“It’s not easy to talk about and that can increase feelings of isolation and distress. So we want to empower people to make those first steps.”
If you or someone you know is living with a life-limiting or terminal illness there is a wide range of support and services available. Talk to your GP, call 01227 812616 or visit www.pilgrimshospices.org to find out more.
Events include a free film night at Pilgrims’ Ann Robertson Centre in Canterbury next Wednesday for a screening of The Lady in the Van, with a post-film discussion. Visitwww.pilgrimshospices.org for the full listing and bookings.