Hospice of the Valleys -

Please join with us to remember and celebrate the life of someone special to you as

part of our annual Light up a Life campaign

The death of someone you love is undoubtedly the hardest thing any of us will go through, and Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of year when you are missing someone special.

Light up a Life is a wonderful way for our community to come together to remember, reflect and celebrate the lives of those loved ones we are unable to spend Christmas with this year.

We invite you to be part of our special Light up a Life campaign, whereby you can remember your loved one by having their name and a dedicated message on both our ‘virtual’ and physical Christmas tree.

You can either make your dedication directly onto our virtual tree by clicking here or contact us, either way we will ensure that your dedication appears on both or virtual and physical tree.

Our physical tree will this year be located in the reception area of Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan Community Hospital, NP23 6GL

Alongside your dedication, if you are able to donate to our Light up a Life campaign, this will help us continue to fund the much-needed work we do within our community, supporting all those affected by a life limiting illness when they need us the most. We understand that times are difficult for everyone, but however small your donation, please be assured it really will make a big difference to the lives of the patients, families and bereaved relatives we support.

Sadly, Maria will be remembering her daughter Sophie this Christmas who died last November, aged 26.

“At first I was glad just to have a point of contact to answer all my questions, but as Sophie became more unwell we needed more support from the Hospice. Sophie really enjoyed having Complementary Therapy as it not only helped with her pain, but also helped her relax and switch off”.

Your kind gift will help ensure the Hospice is there to continue supporting families like Maria’s, making sure they have the care and support they deserve, when they need it the most.

Light up a Life services

Thank you to everyone who attended one of this years Light up a Life Services. It has been wonderful to remember and celebrate your loved ones with you this Christmas,

Below is a video from our Blaina event at St Peter’s Church for those who were unable to attend.

You don’t need to have a connection with the hospice to join our heart-warming and up-lifting Light up a Life campaign – everyone in our local community is warmly invited to take part.

For further information on the campaign please contact:

Fundraising@hospiceofthevalleys.com or call 01495 717277

Sophie

“Sophie was bright, kind and a determined lady, who lived life to the full and was brave in the most desperate circumstances”

Maria smiles as she talks fondly about Sophie. At the age of fourteen months, Sophie was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive ovarian Cancer.

In May 1998, Sophie was so poorly her treatment was stopped and Maria and her husband Andrew were told to take Sophie home and enjoy her, uncertain as to how long she had left. Sophie incredibly flourished and surpassed all expectations, she excelled in school and went onto become a teacher!

Sophie fell, in February 2020 and hurt her back, scans unveiled that the cancer had returned and she had a tumour on her spine. Maria recalls how the Hospice became involved in September 2020.

Devastatingly Sophie passed away in hospital on 2^nd November 2021. Following Sophie’s death the Hospice Family Support Team made contact with Maria offering support, and although she has not yet pursued this Maria is thankful that the team are still in contact with her should she need support at any point in the future. “ It’s still very early days since Sophie passed away and as a family we have lots of milestones to tackle and Christmas this year will be one of those”.

Sophie

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