Says David Baxter as he opens up about his plans to volunteer at the Leeds Sue Ryder hospice which cared for his wife in her final days.
David, 44, from Guiseley, is keen to give something back to Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice in Headingley, following the care his wife Lucia received in 2019. David explains:
“In 2019, my wife Lucia was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She passed away in August, when our little boy was only nine months old. It was a six-month cycle from diagnosis to losing my wife. Throughout that process, the help that we got from Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice was just amazing.
“Staff from the hospice came out to see Lucia at home. They were brilliant; I can’t speak highly enough of them. That’s why it’s massively important to me to do anything I can do to support the hospice.”
David continued: “I’ve already done a fundraising sponsored walk around Bolton Abbey through work, dressed as a Disney character for Sue Ryder. I was Maui from Moana – that was very interesting to say the least! And my son and I did the Starlight Hike last October, and we’ll continue to do that each year.”
Having planned to volunteer at the hospice last year, David was delighted to return with a work colleague a few weeks ago. He said:
“I was supposed to volunteer with my manager last year, but things were just too busy at work. This year we put our names down and came to help out with the garden. It was lovely to be there and help the guys out.
“I’m now planning to sign up as a regular volunteer because the hospice means so much to me. It feels like the right thing to do.
“The greatest gift that we can give anyone is time. So that’s what I can give back to Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice for all that it did for my family and, in particular, my wife. It’s the least I can do.”
Fiona Bairstow, Volunteer Coordinator at Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice, said: “As a charity, we’re incredibly grateful for the support we get from our fantastic volunteers, but we’re always on the lookout for more! We’ve got lots of exciting renovation work going on in our gardens at the moment, so if you’d like to follow David’s example and become a gardening volunteer, we’d be delighted to hear from you.”
For more information about Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice, visit: sueryder.org/wheatfields
To find out more about volunteering, email fiona.bairstow@sueryder.or
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