This is the first Christmas that Stevie’s family will be without her. But daughter, Aimee, and her family will remember their mum during our Light Up A Life service, taking place on Sunday 5 December.
An amazing, inspirational woman
Aimee said: “Mum was an amazing, inspirational woman and wherever she went, she made an impact. She was brilliant and always encouraged us."
Stevie was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s shortly after retiring eight years ago.
“For three or four years, mum was fine, and she learned to live with it and carry on independently.
“But then she started to forget to eat and going out in the middle of the night. She couldn’t live on her own, so during lockdown she moved in with me and my daughter Bella. We had a laugh, and it was a real bonding time.”
Frightening for us as a family
“Mum had always wanted to stay at home, so my brother Thomas and his wife Elzanne moved into mum’s house to help along with me. It was quite a daunting thought and as we got towards the end of her life, it did start to take its toll. It became quite frightening for us as a family on our own, not knowing what to do and how we were supposed to look after her.
By Christmas 2020, Stevie needed end-of-life care at home. Aimee and her family were put in touch with our Hospice at Home nursing team.
“The Treetops nurses came and just changed everything for us. They arrived and just gelled with mum immediately. Within 5 minutes they became one of the family. They showed us how to care for mum and gave us confidence when treating her.”
Gave us the strength to carry on
“Having someone at home that is poorly and needs 24-hour care is very, very draining and tiring. Not just physically but mentally as well, because you never get to relax. So having the nurses step in for a few hours to give us a break and know that we don’t have to worry about anything during that time, was just amazing. It gave us the strength to carry on.The nurses didn’t just help with mum, they helped with all of us.
It was mum that was dying, not us, but the Treetops nurses looked after me and the family and helped us through everything.”
“The week leading up to her death brought our family so much closer because of Treetops. The whole experience of mum passing was just made more bearable and because we had the support, it couldn’t have happened in a better way.
We wouldn’t have been able to get through it without them
“We wouldn’t have been able to get through it without them being there. They were like our angels. They just took all the difficult stuff away, which as a family we desperately needed.”
Grieving those who have died is always difficult. Light Up A Life is an opportunity for us all to take a few moments to remember someone special in our lives, reflect on the happier times we’ve shared and watch as the lights on our tree shine in their memory.