Hull woman shares husband's final days in Hospice in the hope to encourage donations

A Hull woman is sharing the experience of her husband's final days in hospice care in a plea to support vital services.

Prue Blake's husband spent his final moments at Dove House Hospice in Hull after being diagnosed with prostate and lung cancer.

As the hospice joins a national campaign to promote funding for end-of-life care, Prue is sharing her story in the hope of inspiring others to support the cause.

Prue, said:

Because he was so ill, visiting was permitted at any time, night or day, with no

restrictions on the number of visitors, although Dennis did manage to indicate that he

only wanted close family.

I stayed over, and staff set up a bed for me in the room and made sure I was fed and

watered – the food was excellent and varied and cooked in the Hospice’s kitchen.

"Dennis was at Dove House for five days. In the last two days, it was obvious that he wa

deteriorating, and we played his favourite music – Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, John

Lennon, Hot Chocolate, to name a few, plus his favourite classical tracks.

"In the middle of the afternoon, one of the nurses explained the signs that his body was

dying. We were all with him when he died; it was teatime, we held him, we cried, and the

nurses cried too.

"I had forgotten to take some clean t-shirts, so for a couple of days, Dennis wore those

provided by the hospice – a nice orange one, and on the day he died, he had an

England football top on, complete with three lions which we asked if he could keep on.

We were given as much time as we needed to spend with him in the room. I didn’t want

to leave him in the room, so the nurses arranged for us to accompany him to the door of

the morgue. This meant closing the doors to all other patient rooms, and the staff lined

up to pay their respects. It all felt so genuine, as if he was the only person to have ever

died at the hospice.

"I can’t praise the Hospice staff highly enough. What was a traumatic and difficult tim

was eased and soothed for us by them.

"I wonder if the majority of members of the public know that the Hospice is almost totally

reliant on funding from donations and all manner of fundraising activities. The Hospice

shops are a major source of income, with only a small percentage of funding comes

from the NHS.

"Dove House Hospice is a wonderful, wonderful place, caring for people at their most

vulnerable, supporting and caring for their loved ones, and we as a family are

fundraising with various events"

The campaign which launched on Monday 17th February features a moving TV advert inspired by real-life hospice stories. Its aim is to change perceptions of hospice care and inspire people to consider leaving a gift in their will to support their local hospice.

You can find out more info here