In this short series of blogs, our patient Keith, aged 75, talks about each of our 3 services and explains how we’ve helped him.

Early life and diagnosis

Keith is originally from Nottingham and grew up in a family of miners. After leaving school at 15, he turned down the chance to work at a local colliery and moved to Birmingham.

Later, his wife Pat became ill, and they ended up returning to Nottingham. He said: “we were married for 30 years before she died in March 2023. By that point I was already ill myself and had been getting worse for a few years.”

Keith was diagnosed with heart problems and other complications following a trip to the hospital. “Suddenly they came out with a list of things – ‘you’ve had a few mini strokes. Your heart’s not good.’ And then a final surprise was that I had cancer, too.”

Hospice in Your Home

Sometimes Keith struggles to visit the Hospice for Wellbeing sessions, and we’ve started to provide at-home support for him as well.

He explains, “It’s a real struggle to get up and do things sometimes. But I’m determined to do it – even if it takes 3 hours. I’ve learnt I can’t do things how I used to. Though I like to try keep my independence, I get shattered easily.

“The Hospice in Your Home service means everything. I always look forward to the call saying someone’s coming. Otherwise, I’m on my own all the time. If I sit here, I can get quite depressed.”  

One of our nurses, Lindsey, is with us while we talk: “we like having a chat, and I usually stay here for a couple of hours. He likes ordering things off Amazon so sometimes I’ll help him set up his new gadgets, or putting away the three jars of Branston Pickle he’s accidentally ordered!”

“Determined to be at home”

One of Keith’s recent orders is a new urn for his wife’s ashes, which he’s recently set up with a candle and framed picture of them both.

He said: “I don’t want to go to hospital again. I want to be here, with Pat. I am determined to be at home when I go.”

Best place on Earth

As we finished talking to Keith, we asked him how he’d describe Nottinghamshire Hospice in 3 words.

He gave us 4: “Best place on earth.” He explains: “It’s my world. The people, my friends – it’s made such a difference and without the Hospice I know I wouldn’t be here.”

Help others die at home

As a charity, we rely on the generous support of others to continue our care. Our yearly Light Up A Life appeal raises money to make sure we can be there fore people like Keith.