Meet Hayley she is taking on an incredible challenge to support the Hospice as her way of giving something back as her dad Keith and the wider family were supported by the Hospice a number of years ago.

Hayley recalls how her dad Keith was diagnosed in March 2016 with lung cancer and shortly after his diagnosis developed pneumonia and his lung collapsed, he was in hospital for several weeks fighting for his life and this was when Keith was first referred to the Hospice. Amazingly despite a long recovery following surgery to remove the lower lobe of his lung, he recovered well and follow up checks confirmed that the surgery was a success and the cancer was gone.

Keith slowly started to get better and become stronger, however by August the family noticed he was becoming increasingly tired, weak and off his food. Blood tests confirmed that Keith’s calcium levels were up and following scans the families worst nightmares were confirmed – Keith’s cancer had returned and was aggressively attacking his liver, pelvis and other organs. And the devastating news followed that Keith was terminal and so he was referred to the Hospice again.

Hayley describes how “The hospice not only supported my father with daily visits, they spent time chatting with him and sharing his humour. They saw my father as a man with dignity and pride, still very much head of our family. They supported him with personal care and provided us with a break from our caring role. The staff from the hospice spent time chatting with us and easing our worries if only a little, they were extremely empathetic towards the whole family and enabled us to keep my father at home until the end”.

Sadly Keith passed away on 8th October 2016 surrounded by his wife, Beverley, two sons, Justin and Luke, Hayley, his granddaughter Casey and beloved boxer dog Skye.

“We will be forever grateful to all the hospice team for the support, kindness and care they provided to our family at the hardest time of our lives.

To show my gratitude I will be completing a Skydive in memory of my father on my birthday 22nd April. This is my way of giving something back and also amazing my father with my crazy antics yet again. I can hear him now saying “Go on flakey, you can do it”