It was an honour to spend time with Doreen and her daughter, Suzanne, on the inpatient ward in the hospice.  Listening to their story shows how special their relationship is and how important St Rocco’s has been to them during their difficult journey.

Doreen was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was 70 in January 2020.  Up until that moment, she was working in a jewellery store in Warrington and was full of life with no plans to slow down.  After losing her husband in 2015, Doreen was used to fighting and was ready for this next challenge. 

Suzanne spoke of how hard it was seeing her mum go through every treatment including major surgery and chemotherapy before losing her spark in hospital.  During this time, the bad luck continued as Doreen’s neighbour had a burst water pipe causing damage to both houses.  Doreen moved in with Suzanne and her family so that repairs could be made.  Suzanne recalled how grateful she was that they had 8 months living together.  Even during the darkest of times, Suzanne’s positivity and love for her mum shines above everything.

In early 2023, Suzanne noticed a change in her mum’s mood and Doreen admitted to being frustrated with her lack of independence and said that she felt like giving up.  They chatted to the oncologist who suggested they contact St Rocco’s for some support.  Suzanne remembered their first feeling was dread because they thought it would be a depressing and dark place where people just go to die.  However, she said that she could not have been more wrong.

“St Rocco’s ignited the fire in my mum and gave her the chance to live again.  It gave my mum her spark back and I will always be truly grateful for that.  My mum is really arty and loves flower arranging and painting, so she chose to attend the craft group.  She also went to the coffee afternoons every week and had regular massages from the lovely therapy team.  Everything that she loved that had been slowly taken away by her illness was given to her again, like the chance to be creative and meet new people.  Even on her worst days, she wouldn’t miss her visits to the hospice.  She has made so many friends too.”

In November 2023, Doreen’s health deteriorated, and she was admitted into hospital.  The family were given the difficult news that there were no more treatment options, and Doreen would now receive palliative care.  She was discharged from hospital in December as she was adamant that she wanted to spend Christmas at home and Doreen’s fighting spirit meant that it happened!  However, on Christmas night, Suzanne knew her mum needed to be back in hospital so took her back for care. 

“It was so hard knowing my mum was in hospital and I didn’t sleep properly worrying about her.  I broke my heart every day having to leave her.  When the doctor suggested St Rocco’s we jumped at the chance and kept everything crossed that there was space for her.  When we found out there was, my mum had packed her bags before the doctor had finished talking!”

Suzanne told me that St Rocco’s really is a ‘home from home’ and that she feels calm knowing her mum is in the hospice.  When she goes home every evening, she can rest knowing that her mum is being cared for by the nurses who are ‘angels in disguise’. The staff helped Doreen to have a bath and she said it was really relaxing as she didn’t have a bath in her home, so it was a real treat.  ‘They may seem like simple things but to our family, they mean the world.’

“My mum is treated like a queen at St Rocco’s.  All the staff take the time to chat to us and really get to know us.  When my son, Harry, visited for the first time, the staff greeted him by name, and he felt like he was famous!  Although my mum can’t attend the groups now, the friends she has made there come and visit her, so she still has that connection to the things she loves.” 

“St Rocco’s is such a safe place, and my mum receives the care she deserves.  Even though we know we have a hard journey ahead of us, I never dread coming to the hospice and I never feel worried about leaving and this just means everything to us.  We will continue to laugh together every day and talk about hard things and daft things.  I already have plans to volunteer with St Rocco’s and I want to share our story so that anyone who is unsure or worried about the hospice knows just what an incredible and life changing place it really is.”

Thank you to Doreen and Suzanne for taking the time to share their story.

In loving memory of Doreen.