My name is Keeley and I’m a nurse on the Inpatient Unit at St Giles Hospice.
This year will be my tenth Christmas caring for local people and their loves ones – something that simply wouldn’t be possible without the kindness of people like you.
I love working at Christmas because it’s truly magical. Early on Christmas morning, our team will quietly place presents in each patient’s room, and when they wake up, the festivities are in full swing.
Just like any other Christmas Day, our patients will tuck into a traditional Christmas dinner – starters, puddings and all – with their relatives by their side.
The atmosphere is indescribable. Many of my favourite Christmases have been spent at the hospice, seeing patients and families spend quality time together and witnessing the unconditional love they all have for each other.
I can celebrate Christmas on another day, but our patients can’t. For many, this may be their last Christmas, which is why it’s so important that we help create special memories for families to cherish forever.
I will always remember a lady visiting St Giles after her husband had died, to say how much their last Christmas had meant to her. It was the one final day that they spent time together, feeling like a real family unit, and that’s what Christmas is all about.
At St Giles, we help to make Christmas special for our patients by bringing a bit of home into the hospice. We encourage everyone to put up their favourite decorations, and we’ve even had patients with big 6ft trees at the end of their bed, because if that’s what they’d do at home, then they should be able to do it here.
Whilst we’re caring for people at the hospice, our community teams are also visiting and caring for patients who want to be at home with their families over Christmas. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Christmas Day or any other day, we’ll always be there for our patients.
I know the festive season can be quite an expense, but our patients need us more than ever. Without generous donations from people like you, we couldn’t provide our vital care services at Christmas time, and all year round.
It’ll cost £850,000 in December alone to deliver care to some of the most vulnerable people in our community – and only a third of this is funded by the Government.
Therefore, any donation you can kindly make this Christmas will help us create special memories that families can look back on for years to come.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your support.
Keeley Sherwin
St Giles Hospice Nurse
