Whether it is learning the names of their grandchildren, listening to stories from their childhood, or remembering a favourite piece of music, it enables us to help them live the richest lives possible until their very last day.

For April Robertson this meant being able to enjoy last summer’s glorious weather, with our Hospice at Home team attending to her needs in the garden while she enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her face.

Her daughter Clair said: “We’re lucky to have a nice garden, which is quite private, so rather than Hospice at Home it was Hospice in the Garden! She loved being outside so that was very special to be able to take her hospital bed out onto the terrace so she could still enjoy the lovely weather.

“That’s the really special thing about the Hospice; they were always respectful of the person she was. Mum loved her clothes so they were really careful in choosing what to dress her in and always applied her makeup so carefully. It was absolutely lovely having them come out to us to care for Mum. She really enjoyed having them look after her.”

Just four months previously, our Hospice at Home team had also had the privilege of caring for April’s partner Peter, who passed away in March 2020 just as the UK was preparing to enter its first national lockdown. The couple had been together for 25 years but had only just got married in January last year, tying the knot in the sitting room of their home in Bishop’s Stortford.

Clair said: “Peter was an incredibly strong and fit man, so it was a shock to see his health deteriorate so quickly. But he was an old fashioned gentleman, so accepted the help graciously and really hit it off with [Hospice at Home healthcare assistant] Sue as she had worked in a bank and Peter had been a Lloyds bank manager for many years. They were just really caring, lovely people.”

When April was then diagnosed with incurable brain cancer just a month or two after Peter’s death, and the family were again referred to Isabel Hospice, it was Sue who made the first home visit.

“We’re just incredibly grateful to have the Hospice, and to have been able to be with Mum right until the very end,” Clair said. “The understanding and the empathy, the skill and compassion, and the warmth and love they show is truly incredible.

“So many people have lost loved ones over the past 18 months who weren’t able to be with them, so we know how lucky we are. Mum was always an impetuous and impatient person so we knew the end would be quick, but we were able to sit quietly with her, reading psalms and playing her music.

“The Hospice allowed us to be with her all the way through, and for her to be surrounded by the people who loved her. That is really, really precious. It was an absolute lifeline in those dark final days and made all the difference to being able to have her at home at the very end.”