In November 2021 we launched an Amazon Wishlist to allow our supporters to buy vital items for the hospice. The Wishlist has been a great success and to date we have received over £2,000 worth of gifts! Items from CD players to a basketball hoop are now supporting patients both on the Inpatient Unit and in the Living Well Centre.

In December, not long after we had launched the Wishlist, Evelyn Sheppard and Monique Stirrups kindly bought the whole of the original list! They have both kindly shared why they wanted to support St Wilfrid’s in this way:

‘We both have a longstanding connection to St Wilfrid’s Hospice. My father, John was supported by the hospice for several years following a diagnosis of heart and kidney failure. He received regular visits from the hospice Nurses who kept a close eye on him before being cared for by the Hospice at Home Team in July 2021. Dad wanted to retain his full independence and did not want to be admitted to hospital, so the Hospice at Home Team helped him to die peacefully in his own home, which was exactly what he had wanted,’ Monique told us.

‘I was referred to the hospice in 2020 myself following major surgery for bowel cancer,’ Evelyn said. ‘I have had several visits from the Nurses and have found the care I have received to be extremely kind, caring and very compassionate. I have also found being able to call the 24/7 Nurse Line very comforting, especially when I have experienced difficult symptoms in the middle of the night.

‘Before my diagnosis, I was not aware of all the different services that the hospice offers. In my recovery from surgery and after chemotherapy I have struggled to retain my stamina and strength. I was contacted by the Physiotherapist, Joe who directed me to the hospice’s website where I could watch some gentle and helpful exercise videos. These have definitely helped me. I have also benefitted from some counselling and several relaxation sessions from Complementary Therapist, Angie over the phone and these have been invaluable during the pandemic.’

Evelyn and Monique like to keep up to date with the hospice’s news through its Facebook page and saw that we were asking for support through our Amazon Wishlist.

‘We had a look and noticed that the items came with descriptions explaining how the staff, patients and volunteers would all benefit from the different items,’ said Monique.

‘We did not want anyone to feel left out, so we thought it would be a lovely surprise to purchase them all as an early Christmas present!’ Evelyn added. ‘Christmas was also a good time for our family as we were able to enjoy it together for the first time in years due to a three-month break in treatment.’

Equipment from the Wishlist is being well used in our weekly gym group, and one of our Physiotherapists explains how it is making a difference to patients: ‘It is great to have some new equipment which enables us to do group activities in our weekly gym sessions. We now play basketball at the end of sessions which really helps patients to move around and improve things like their balance while having a bit of fun. We also use equipment such as the agility ladder in outpatient appointments. I can see that the new equipment is inspiring patients to move in different ways.’

Ella Williams, our Counselling Services Lead, has also been putting items from the list to good use. ‘The CD players donated by Evelyn and Monique are incredibly useful in counselling sessions,’ she said. ‘We have been using them to play mindfulness and meditation CDs. Meditation and mindfulness are often new to a lot of the people we support, so we can use the CD players to practise and give them help and advice, making them more confident to do the practises at home.’ 

We would like to thank everyone who has supported St Wilfrid’s Hospice through our Wishlist so far. If you would like to support the hospice in this way, click here to see the latest items.