The family of a man who praise Ashgate Hospice for enabling them to celebrate one last Christmas with him just days before his death are backing the charity’s festive fundraising campaign.
Philip Bramall, from Killamarsh, received end of life care at the hospice’s Inpatient Unit before his death on 28 December 2023, aged 66.
The grandfather, who had cancer and Parkinson’s disease, spent the final eight weeks of his life at Ashgate after being admitted on 2 November.
The festive season was Philip’s favourite time of the year and spending it with his close friends and family was important to him.
His daughter, Faye Bramall said staff and volunteers at the hospice “made Christmas really special for us as a family”.
The family is urging others to support the hospice’s Christmas Appeal, so the hospice can go the extra mile for other families this winter.
Faye, 29, from Sheffield, said: “Christmas was dad’s favourite time of year, and his wishes were to just celebrate together as a family one last time.
“From walking into the hospice and seeing the Christmas trees, it was just magical in Ashgate during the festive season.
“I’ll never forget on Christmas Day, we decided to take Christmas to the hospice. We had a pyjama party, cocktails, buck’s fizz and even made prawn cocktails.
“There was Christmas music playing on the TV, and we were just playing games. To say Dad couldn’t really participate in it, he was really taking it all in.
“They’re such happy memories for me; I’m so grateful the hospice was there so we could focus on spending time with Dad.”
Originally from Mosborough, Philip was a huge Sheffield Wednesday fan and former amateur cricketer and footballer, who worked for Sheffield City Council as a groundskeeper before becoming an office worker.
He was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in 2013 before going into remission after undergoing successful treatment.
Three years later, doctors told Philip he had Parkinson’s disease, before later being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020.
In October last year, an MRI scan revealed the skin cancer had returned and spread across his body, with a consultant giving him a prognosis of two to three years.
But heartbreakingly for Philip and his family, his condition deteriorated and he was admitted to the hospice just weeks after receiving the results of the scan.
“Within a few weeks he was so poorly,” said Faye, a customer services representative for a knife manufacturer. “We didn’t know what to do, we didn’t know where to turn, until Ashgate Hospice stepped in and took control of everything.
“They managed to get him stable, and it was like having my dad back. He peaked and got back on track with his Parkinson’s medication – the care he received was second to none.
“He really came round, and we were going out for lunch and doing all sorts. The plan was for him to be discharged but he started declining again; you could physically see the tumours starting to take over.
“To see him decline so much was just heartbreaking.”
One year on, Faye and her sister Lisa are urging people to back the hospice’s Christmas Appeal to help raise the £11 million it needs every year – over and above NHS funding – in order to pay for its vital care.
Right now, Ashgate is only able to operate 15 out of its 21 inpatient beds. As a result, not all patients who require hospice care are able to access it, meaning some families are missing out on the essential support and special moments that hospices offer, especially during the festive period.
Faye added: “When we knew he was in his final stages, the hospice became like home from home.
“From walking into Ashgate on that first day, I had never been in a hospice before and didn’t know what to expect but it didn’t feel anything like a hospital.
“As soon as we arrived, the nurses and doctors were so welcoming and lovely and within weeks we were on first name terms.
“They got to know what he was like as a person and would have a laugh and a joke with him.
“The care was just phenomenal – not just for him but for us as well. You couldn’t ask for anything more.
“That’s why our family is backing this year’s Christmas Appeal, so that others can have the same special care that we did this winter.”
Find out more by visiting the Ashgate Hospice’s Christmas Appeal webpage or by calling 01246 567250.
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Ashgate Hospice, based in Chesterfield, provides specialist palliative and end of life care including a wide range of community-based care and support services for people with a life-limiting illness and their families across North Derbyshire and the High Peak and Dales. ashgatehospicecare.org.uk
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