Darren’s story

Darren, a supporter of our Hospice, has shared the story of why he chooses to raise funds in aid of us.

Darren’s wife, Deb, also known to Darren as Queen Bee, was diagnosed with cancer in her lungs, liver and intestine lining in October 2021. She started chemotherapy, but after one session she chose to stop the treatment. It was then that she was also diagnosed with cancer in her back and brain.

For Deb, family was everything – she has 3 children and 4 grandchildren – their happiness was everything to her.

Our Hospice at Home team started to visit Deb in October after she chose to stay at home. Darren said, ‘The Hospice at Home team helped to arrange all of the equipment we needed at home. We were visited by nurses twice a week.’

He continued, ‘Nothing was a problem for them, if we needed any equipment, they sorted it. Whoever came in, always came when they said they would. The nurses were so caring – everything was heart-felt.’

When asked what Darren knew about the Hospice before his wife’s diagnosis, he told us ‘Until cancer comes knocking on the door, you don’t know anything about it. It has opened our eyes to how important the Hospice is, and how important the charity and fundraising is.’

Deb’s Oncologist told the family they should move their Christmas forward, so on 11 December 2021, her family gathered for a huge Christmas day together, with all the trimmings. Sadly, Deb died at home on 6 February 2022, just three months after her diagnosis.

Darren and his family attended a group bereavement session at the Hospice, where they shared their experience with others. Darren said, ‘It was really good to sit in a room with people having the same experience, it was good to share our experience.’

Darren said, ‘Thank you for opening our eyes to what the Hospice does, the personal care it gives and what it means to the town. I’ll support you forever.’

We want to say a big thank you to Darren for supporting our Hospice.