Spotlight on Dungannon: Vincent and Barbara-Anne share their story.
“Our local hospice has truly made a difference to our lives and is right here on our doorstep in Dungannon.”
Our #SpotlightOnDungannon campaign launched this week with the aim to raise awareness of the services provided by the Hospice, including an Inpatient Unit based in Newry; Outpatient Clinics (run with the Southern HSC Trust); Hospice Community Outreach Services (including Hospice Day Therapy Services in Newry and Dungannon); and Specialist Palliative Nurses in Daisy Hill Hospital and the Southern Trust’s Community Palliative Care Team.
The work we do makes a real difference to local people and their families and over the next four weeks we will feature local people from Dungannon, who are using the services and our amazing volunteers as well as talking to our staff who are providing this expert care in Dungannon.
Every year many local patients, and their families, avail of these services with approximately 25% of the patients admitted to the Inpatient Unit living in the Armagh and Dungannon area. Several people also attend the weekly bereavement walking groups in Dungannon. The Hospice Day Therapy centre is another vital service available, based in the South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon. It has been a lifeline to many local patients and their families and offers specialist palliative care - such as physiotherapy, complementary therapy, and counselling, to patients living with a palliative illness.
Vincent and Barbara-Anne are a local couple who have attended the Hospice Day Therapy centre in Dungannon. They are happy to share their experience…
In 2019 when Vincent was just 45 years old, he went to the doctor with concerns about reduced mobility, tests revealed a cancerous lesion on his pelvis. A week later Vincent suffered a stroke and further tests revealed he had POEMS syndrome, which had caused both the lesion and the stroke. The couple were obviously devastated. After a period of recovery Vincent endured rounds of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and then physiotherapy, increasing his mobility. He was making progress and working towards greater independence when the pandemic hit, and these vital services were no longer available to him. It was then that Hospice care was first mentioned to Vincent and Barbara, this is their story…
“Those first few months of the pandemic were incredibly difficult for us; it was a really scary time for everyone but when you are also living with an illness like Vincent is, it was so frightening and often we felt lost and overlooked. Vincent’s mobility really suffered, and he was in constant pain, it was extremely hard on him. He never complained but we all knew he needed help. When respite Hospice care was offered, we were so afraid to accept it. To be honest we were afraid of what it meant, and it took some time for us to agree. But we are so glad we did and in July 2020 we travelled to the In-Patient Unit and Vincent was admitted to Hospice.
It was nothing like we had imagined and though visiting was still restricted we could sit in the garden and chat in the beautiful summer weather. The Hospice had everything Vincent needed right there, he started physio again and Emma the Physiotherapist discovered the source of his pain. It was treated straight away by the doctors and that alone made a significant difference to him.
Vincent stayed in Hospice for 3 weeks and got to know everyone including Jenny who has become a great support to us. Vincent now attends the Hospice Day Therapy Centre in Dungannon where once again Jenny cares for him and where he has regular physio and reflexology sessions.
If we were asked to describe Hospice care, we would say it is like being cared for by family - where you are seen as a person not an illness or symptoms to be managed. They take time to get to know you. They ask after family members and remember why you were so stressed or upset the last time you spoke; serious illness can be so overwhelming for everyone, and they just ease the burden.
To anyone reading this, what we both want to tell you is that Hospice care is right here on our doorstep in Dungannon, and it has made such a difference to Vincent and to all of us, so please do not be afraid, it has been a lifeline for us when many doors were closed, and we will never forget their kindness.” Vincent & Barbara-Anne.
You can read more about our services here www.southernareahospiceservices.org/services.
Keep up to date on our social media pages, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Linked In.
Thank you to Hayes Fuels, for kindly sponsored this campaign, www.hayesfuels.com.