Victoria Henshaw was not only a much loved wife, mother and daughter, but an amazing lady who achieved so much in her life both on a personal and professional level.   A town centre manager turned urban academic, Victoria devoted her life to an aspect of cities that is entirely invisible, but which she was convinced had a huge influence over how we perceive places – namely, their smell.  She achieved the successful publication of her book “Urban Smellscapes”, and had begun preparation of a second book which is now being completed by her colleagues.

In 2014, Victoria received the news that she had cancer.  She was cared for by the Hospice at Home team, before being admitted to the Inpatient Unit on 19th September 2014.  Victoria’s family visited daily and were impressed with the peacefulness of the Hospice surroundings, and the privacy and dignity shown to Victoria.

Whilst being cared for in the Hospice, Victoria urged her sons Brodie, Alistair and Oliver to take part in the Colour Assault to give something back to the Hospice.  The boys set up an online fundraising page, setting themselves a fundraising target of £300, and asked family and friends to sponsor them.  Imagine their delight when their fundraising reached over £5,000!

Sadly, only a few weeks after the Colour Assault, Victoria passed away at home.  We are extremely grateful to the family for their support of Rotherham Hospice and we wish them all the very best for the future.

Charlie Moody (everyone called him Chas) was told he had cancer on the 22nd October 2001 and very soon a secondary cancer was diagnosed. He was just 42.

Chas was determined he did not want to die in a hospital but his pain and symptoms were such that he needed medical intervention. He came into the Hospice for a week giving Shirley his wife and their 5 children respite whilst Chas had his pain and symptoms managed.

On returning home Chas said to Shirley not to buy him Christmas presents and even said that he would die on Christmas day but he was determined to see the face of his soon-to-be-born grandson. Louis came early and the whole family was able to spend some time together.

Rotherham Hospice provided Chas with specialist equipment and a bed to make his stay at home as comfortable as possible with the help of the Hospice Community Nurses Specialists but by December 24th Chas’ condition had started to deteriorate and he asked to be admitted back into the Hospice.

Throughout that night his condition continued to worsen and Shirley was told to prepare herself. Ashley their 13-year-old son was there to hold his Dad’s hand and Chas died on Christmas morning.

Shirley remembers the Hospice providing such comfort and care and she remembers how Chas knew that the Hospice was where he wanted to die, a place where he could die without pain and be surrounded by the people who loved him.

Since Chas’ death, Shirley and her family have organised a sponsored walk, raising over £400 and Shirley was recently awarded her 5-year service certificate for volunteering in our Maltby High Street Shop and has attended Light up a Life every year since.

OUR QUEEN MUM!

Don’t be sad and don’t feel down,
You shouldn’t even raise a frown.
For here’s a lady who led life to the full,
Being in her company was never dull.

That charismatic smile and an encouraging word,
No sounds of negativity were ever heard.
Always in bright colours, her style would never fail,
Even down to the match of her pink finger nails.

Now friends she had many, enough to fill a train,
She loved each one dearly, but none as much as “Our Jane”!
We thought she’d go on forever, but alas it was not to be,
But I’ll bet heavens, now, a brighter, nicer place to be.

We have our happy memories, so there’s no reason to feel glum,
Think of Doreen’s smiling face and say “God Bless to Our Queen Mum!

For Malcolm & Sue and their daughter Kelly May 2018 – one year ago this month – was the month their World was turned upside down. May 2018 was the month Sue was given a terminal diagnosis. Soon after Sue’s diagnosis, the family thought about the Hospice but didn’t know what to expect. It was Sue’s daughter Kelly who strongly advised getting in contact with our team here, having had the experience of the care & support given when her husband’s Nan’s were looked after.

“It’s a place you think you’re going to go into and never come out” Malcolm says. But Sue took the leap and popped into our Day Unit and Malcolm tells us she absolutely loved it.

“Just to see the smile on Sue’s face knowing she was coming to the Day Unit at the Hospice was great”. The Hospice’s pick up and drop off service was a big help to the family, and Kelly tells us it allowed the family to have a break whilst knowing that Sue was being well looked after.

Eventually after a particularly stressful period, and a time that Malcolm says almost broke him, the family got in touch with the Hospice at Home team.

“From the first day the Hospice were brilliant. I found that if I had problems with medicines, the Hospice were always available and always helpful”.

The Hospice at Home team visited up to three times a day and provided necessary resources to ensure Sue’s comfort. Malcolm recounts how surprised and grateful he was that our Hospice at Home team popped round to the family home on New Year’s Day 2019 just to make sure everything was alright, and for a tea and a natter.

“Just knowing someone was coming round and the support we got was always amazing. Right up to the day that Sue passed away, the first place I thought to ring was the Hospice and within an hour, they were here, and had made sure Sue was comfortable.”

Sadly Sue passed away on the 2nd January 2019 surrounded by her loving family.

Not all the news from the Rotherham area is bad news! My name is Steven Howard and I have lost both my mum and dad to cancer while they were both fit and had a long life ahead of them, together. I lost my mum to non-hodgkins Lymphoma in 2010 and my dad to stomach cancer in 2016, spending his last days with me at his side in Broom Valley Road Hospice, Rotherham.

Missing them sparked the author in me and I penned my first novel, ‘CURE’, a racy adult adventure thriller based on my feelings and the disease cancer.

Following a motorcycle accident years ago I suffered from PTSD and was forced to give up work as a Yorkshire Ambulance Paramedic in 2008 when, after 18 days of illness that year, I was informed I was no longer capable by management; although I was showing great improvement and had been put forward for promotion to Paramedic Practitioner in Doncaster after the sick days I’d taken. Being forced to find alternative employment found me working away from home, this exacerbated my PTSD but I battled on until the separation anxiety from my family got too much to bear.

That is when I started my own company HART UK Limited and gained contracts with TATA Steel and Scottish Power, where we supplied Doctors Paramedics and Fire Rescue. Selling the successful company in 2011 to spend more time with my daughter and wife made me realise what commitment I had given to Yorkshire Ambulance Service and my company.

Losing both my parents to cancer had focused the realisation of our short time on Earth and so the career in writing began. Writing became a treatment for my PTSD and has benefitted me immensely. As a Yorkshire lad, I am proud that my written work has received such great accolades and would like to think that this county has produced some of the best authors known.

At present, I am using an American Publisher but wish to get my next book, FUEL, published by a UK publisher. I would also love to get my present book CURE published as a UK book! My aspiration is to become a well-known British adult adventure-thriller writer and be added to those great Yorkshire authors.

My story starts off when in December 2015 I lost my fiancé. He died in Rotherham General Hospital. At the time it was the biggest shock of my life and unexpected. I eventually sought help and wanted counselling, and from a friend, I was referred from my doctors to the Hospice.

I’ve met some lovely people both staff and volunteers many of whom have suffered loss at some time. I go to the group and I have benefited from that too. I’ve met a new friend at the group who is going through the same pain as I am. We help each other. Without all this, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I just put my name down to do voluntary work at the Hospice. I would just like to thank all the staff and volunteers for being so nice and helpful to me.

You’ve helped me realise that life can go on after the death of a loved one and that I am not alone.

If you have been moved by Liz’s story, please consider donating using the button below. Your kind donations allow us to continue providing services and support both in the Hospice and out in the community.

The Purple Tulip has become a symbol of remembrance for Jessica and her family. Purple represents the fight against pancreatic cancer, a disease that Jessica’s dad, Keith Horsham, sadly passed away from in April 2019. And Tulip is the name of the room that Keith was in when he spent time at Rotherham Hospice, joking with the cleaning staff, and sitting in his favourite recliner.

This is Jessica’s story:

Jessica’s dad, Keith was a keen golfer. He had been captain of Rotherham Golf Club back in 2017, and it was after returning from a golf trip to Florida in November 2018 that he started feeling a little unwell.

Spurred on by Jessica, Keith reluctantly went to see a doctor having had pains in his feet, and suffering from shortness of breath, which Jessica says was unusual given that he was quite active. The Doctor referred Keith to the hospital, who found blood clots on his lungs.

At first this gave the family some relief, because it could be treated. But soon the hospital found a mass on Keith’s pancreas. The family were told the news they’d feared; the cancer had spread to the lining of Keith’s abdomen.