Karen Rondan, 66, has thanked nurses at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice in Peterborough for ‘putting her back together again’.
Karen, from Stamford, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, however was found to be allergic to chemotherapy and other conventional medication. The cancer later spread to her spine causing paralysis – and after a lengthy hospital stay, she was finally moved to Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice in August 2017.
Karen said: “I was completely broken when I came to Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice. I didn’t know a lot about hospices and I came here thinking it was a place for me to die.
“If I had known a little bit more about hospices, I wouldn’t have been so fearful. I’m a totally different person now to the one who arrived here and that’s down to the amazing staff here. It’s been like joining a family. Every single person here has helped me and I would like to help other people to see hospices differently.
“I would like to reassure people that hospices can actually be a fun place where you can have a bubble bath, play chess, pick flowers from the garden for your room, arrange for a volunteer to blow dry and style your hair or do your nails, create a visualisation board with your planned activity and all the other things along the way that gave me hope and have made me smile.
“The palliative care team at the hospital went to a lot of trouble to find me a hospice that was right for me after I ended up paralysed. Although there wasn’t initially a bed available at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice, we agreed I should wait and fortunately, after three days, they told me that they had a bed. I just felt like I had been blessed.
“That first night I knew I was in good hands. After my first night in the hospice I felt like I had slept on a cloud. I felt so safe and secure and that is how it’s been ever since. I’ve felt there is no need to worry.
“The million dollar gift was that the hospice team were able to get me into a shower chair bath so I could actually have a shower bath and have my hair washed properly which just gave me back my dignity.
The Sue Ryder Nurses are all so kind and caring but you can see that what they do is a passion for them, not a job. They all have it in their blood. They are empathetic and will go out of their way to make sure that you’re comfortable and have what you need.
“People genuinely care here. It’s the whole experience. You feel listened to and that is so reassuring. Before the nurses do anything they will tell you what they are going to do, explain why, and ask if you are comfortable with that. Communication is so important.
I was just so broken when I arrived so it feels like a miracle, like I was given a winning lottery ticket. The hospice team have made me feel whole as a person again and helped me through everything because I was so confused about where my life was going. My pain is managed now and I’m ready to be discharged after 16 weeks.
“I’m a capable person but I felt like I had lost all that and given up on my life. I was given it back piece by piece. If I was a jigsaw puzzle, I came in here smashed into a whole lot of pieces and now I feel like that puzzle has been put back together again. I can see myself now and I can see a life and I can see hope.”
Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice are currently recruiting for nurses to help more people like Karen. To see all our vacancies please visit www.sueryder.org/jobs
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About Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice
At Sue Ryder, we can’t make life’s most difficult moments easy, but we can carry some of the load. For more than 70 years we have been a source of strength and support for anyone living with a life-limiting illness or grief.
Dying and grief are universal experiences, but too many people face them alone. Here at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice located in Peterborough we provide a safe and reassuring hand for the people of Peterborough, Stamford and parts of Lincolnshire to reach for. Our expert support is available from our specialist inpatient unit, offering both specialist and medically-light beds, hospice at home service, family support team, complementary therapy and palliative rehabilitation.
From giving care and support for someone at the end of their life to helping someone manage their grief, we know there is no one size fits all when it comes to how we cope and the help we need. We campaign for everyone who is approaching the end of their life or grieving to have access to the right support, at the right time. And we seek to break down the barriers to talking about dying and grief – so we can all be better prepared and better equipped to be there for each other.
We can make a positive difference during even the darkest of times. Whether in the last months, weeks or days of life, or living with grief, we help people live the best life they possibly can. We are there when it matters.
From giving care and support for someone at the end of their life to helping someone manage their grief, we know there is no one size fits all when it comes to how we cope and the help we need. We campaign for everyone who is approaching the end of their life or grieving to have access to the right support, at the right time. And we seek to break down the barriers to talking about dying and grief – so we can all be better prepared and better equipped to be there for each other. The message encourages and motivates , let us have a heart of having this long journey with our life threatening illness conditions. It gives hope and quality of life.