Oxford children’s hospice celebrating International Nurses Day
Today is International Nurses Day
Helen and Douglas House Hospice are celebrating the incredible work nurses do every day for International Nurses Day.
They are also encouraging people to shop at their charity shops which could help fund a nurse for a year, as the money raised each week from their 25 shops could fund two nurses for a year.
Hannah Marsh is a fully qualified nurse caring for terminally ill children at Helen & Douglas House, she said: “Working as a hospice nurse, we care for children and their families at the end of their lives, providing comfort and dignity. Even in these moments we try to make memories, whether it is wheeling a child in their bed to enjoy some sunshine in the garden or making fingerprint paintings.
“As a hospital nurse you are trained to make people better but moving to a hospice the focus of care changes and this shift in perspective can be challenging to begin with learning to understand you cannot always fix the problem, all you can do is help families through the hardest moments in their life which is a privilege.”
Ms Marsh also hopes to inspire other people to join the profession, saying “it's incredibly rewarding.”
She added: “It is emotional, but the on the flip side, we try so hard to bring in special moments and if a child struggling with pain, we still get their favourite cuddly toy to spend time with them and make them smile.”
“We can't change what's going to happen, but we can make things a little bit better. So, whether that's making a family a cup of tea, or whether it's doing a hand cast fingerprint for a child who's dying. They all just make such a difference”, she adds.
Speaking about one of the children she has recently been looking after, Ms Marsh said: "Eddie started coming to Helen & Douglas House about a year ago.
"We help Eddie help with seizure management but also allow him and his family to quality spend time together. A special memory was when we dressed up for World Book Day and Eddie was the Gruffalo. We had lots of fun at Helen & Douglas House that day. Eddie also loves the waterbed in the sensory room and going for a swim in the therapeutic pool.