Suzie and Pete’s Story

There are many thing that I loved about my dad, Pete. Hardworking, practical and eager to help, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his family and friends. He was one in a million.

Perhaps that’s why his Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis came as such a shock. One moment he was putting up a pergola in my back garden, the next we feared losing the strong, capable man that we’d always known.

Not long after we found out about Dad’s illness, we were introduced to the team at Prospect Hospice. I’ll admit, at first we panicked. We thought that accepting their help meant that Dad’s death was imminent, or that he’d have to move into the hospice when he so desperately wanted to stay at home. How wrong we were! From the moment we met Dorinda, Prospect’s specialist MND practitioner, it was clear that Dad’s wishes mattered. We felt a huge sense of relief.

Dorinda was able to spend hours getting to know my dad. She treated him as a person, not simply a patient and she quickly learned that being surrounded by his wife, kids and grandchildren, in the familiarity of his own home, meant everything to him.

In the following weeks and months, nothing felt rushed. The Prospect team went above and beyond to give Dad vital care, and they soon felt like an extension of our family. Crucially, they gave Dad the time he needed to accept the inevitable decline in his health while they skilfully and sensitively prepared us for what was to come. We realised that whatever happened, however bad things got, we wouldn’t have to face Dad’s death alone.

When Dad could no longer speak, we were devastated. But the Prospect team made sure that his voice could still be heard by working with Speech Therapy to source special voice bank technology and an eye gaze device. Giving Dad the chance to communicate with us, using his own voice, meant more than I can say.

Prospect’s love and kindness stretched far beyond meeting my dad’s complicated needs. They provided my whole family with the comfort, reassurance and knowledge we needed to face our worst fears. They held us up when we broke down and I’ll never forget the difference their unwavering support made in our darkest days.

I honestly don’t know how we would have coped without Prospect Hospice.