A Burnham-On-Sea family has raised £20,000 for a local hospice in memory of a relative who died from cancer.
Christine Woodberry, pictured, passed away in 2008 and since then her daughter Kim (31) and sons Scott (38) and Mark (39) have raised thousands for charity by setting up the Petal Memorial Trust.
Weston Hospicecare is an annual beneficiary of the funds and to date the Woodberry family have raised a huge £20,000 for it.
The funding could pay for ten patients to stay in the hospice’s In-Patient Unit for six days.
The Woodberry family were supported and comforted by staff at the hospice after Christine passed away with ovarian cancer.
Kim said: “A hospice doesn’t exactly conjure up the best of images so, at first, Mum was anxious about spending time in the In-Patient Unit at Weston Hospicecare.”
“However, after she had spoken to the staff and had seen her room with French windows opening out to a private patio, she instantly became more at ease. It was nice that she was still able to have that connection with the outdoors.”
“The hospice staff were absolutely brilliant. Dad struggled coming to terms with Mum’s illness and diagnosis but they took their time to take us to the side, sit down with us and support us.”
“This is one of the main things that has stuck in my mind about the hospice: when they were explaining everything to us, it didn’t feel clinical as it would in a hospital. It was comfortable, yet informative, and we all felt at home there.”
“After her stay in the In-Patient Unit, Mum chose to pass away at home. This wasn’t an easy decision for her to make at first as she didn’t want to put pressure on our family and she felt guilty about the responsibilities we’d have to take on.”
“However, the hospice staff helped explain to Mum that her family were there to support her and that this is what families do for each other. They also explained the many ways in which the hospice could care for her if she chose to die at home. This put her mind at ease and Mum was able to pass away in a place of her choosing without all the anxieties she had had previously.”
It is because of the kindness and generosity of people like the Woodberry family that Weston Hospicecare has been supporting local people for 25 years.
