The family of a dad who spent his final days at Ashgate Hospice says they will “never forget” the special Christmas created for them by staff.
Adele Taylor, 57, from Darley Dale, is supporting Ashgate’s Christmas Appeal in memory of her husband Richard Taylor, who died at the hospice’s Inpatient Unit just before Christmas in 2021.
Richard was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer earlier that year and was initially cared for at home by the hospice’s Specialist Palliative Nurses.
He spent the last 11 days of his life at the hospice in Old Brampton, Chesterfield, before his death on 13 December, aged 53.
As his health began to deteriorate, staff even arranged a special early Christmas Day for Richard and his family just 24 hours before his death.
“After Rich had been in the hospice a week, one of the nurses told us ‘We are going to do a Christmas Day for you,’” Adele said.
“I said you honestly don’t need to do that, but she said: ‘I know, but we want to.’ They obviously knew that Rich wouldn’t be here for Christmas.
“So, on 12th December, we had our own Christmas Day. The fundraising team left us decorations to put up in the room, there was a buffet, we had crackers; Rich’s mum, dad, brother, Hannah, Scott and even our dog Colin was there!”
Adele said the hospice gave her and her children the chance to focus on being a family again rather than carers in Rich’s final days.
“We had such a lovely day together, one I will never forget,” Adele added. “Rich wasn’t communicating at this stage, but I know he was aware we were all together – he loved Christmas.
“It was so special for all of us and something we’ll never forget. He died the next morning.”
Inspired by the care Richard received, Adele wanted to give back to Ashgate. She had already begun volunteering for the hospice in memory of her close friend Sarah Winder, who received “compassionate and loving” end of life care at Ashgate in 2016.
Adele’s connection with the hospice later led to her joining the fundraising team, where she helped local people understand the difference hospice care can make and raise vital funds to support other families across North Derbyshire.
Although she has since moved on from her role at the hospice, Adele continues to proudly support Ashgate as an ambassador, regularly volunteering at fundraising events and helping raise awareness of the care the hospice provides.
She said: “I loved being able to talk to people who didn’t know about Ashgate, or knew very little about it, and tell them how we can support
someone with an end of life diagnosis.
“I loved being able to be a voice for Ashgate, letting people know how we can help and make a difference, and to not be afraid of making that first step should anyone ever come face-to-face with the care themselves.”
Adele has urged local people to give what they can to Ashgate’s Christmas Appeal, so other families can make the same precious memories she did.
“Ashgate enabled us to be Rich’s wife, daughter and son again, not his carer – even though the nurses let me still care for Rich,” Adele said.
“They said they were here to help me too. They could see that Rich was happier when I was there.
“They were true angels – I felt like someone had wrapped their arms around us all.
“Christmas is such a hard time when someone special is no longer here, but I’ll always be grateful to Ashgate for giving us that day together.
“Supporting the appeal is a way of helping more families like mine to have those treasured moments.”
Ashgate Hospice needs to raise around £11 million each year to continue providing specialist palliative and end of life care for local people and the people important to them. Around a third of its income comes from NHS funding, with the majority of the rest made possible thanks to the generosity of its community through donations, fundraising, Gifts in Wills and other charitable support.
To support Ashgate Hospice’s Christmas Appeal, visit www.ashgatehospice.org.uk/christmas-appeal or call 01246 567250.
