Bolton Hospice support helps grieving family pull through

Her daughters, Amy, then 10, and Alice, then six, were devoted to him and were struggling to understand what was happening, especially when he became reluctant to see them.

“It was a really tough time,” recalled Anne. “We were all so upset, but it was worse when the girls couldn’t see him.”

What happened next compounded Anne’s high opinion – initially created 12 years before when her mother passed away in the Hospice – that here was a very special place, populated by “angels”.

The lady in charge of arts and crafts at the Wellbeing Hub managed to get the girls together with their grandfather, Anne, and husband Steve to create a special fingerprint picture.

“It was just lovely,” said Anne. “The girls were so close to their Grandad, and this made all the difference to both him and them.

“It’s very difficult when you are caught up in your own grief to help effectively in the grief of your children so I was really grateful for what they did.”

This was also just a part of the Hospice’s care for Anne and her family, both before her father passed away and afterwards.

“People just think the Hospice is somewhere people go to die, but it’s not like that,” insisted Anne. “There is also this wonderful care for the family, and it goes on afterwards when you also need them.”

Ever since then, Anne, Steve, and the girls have backed Hospice fundraising events whenever they can, including Hike the Pike, and are now getting behind Making Every Moment Count.

“We want to help the Hospice as much as we can because we really appreciate how they helped us,” added Anne.

“People don’t always know what an amazing place it is – but we do.”