Tag Archives: dying wishes

Palace of Care – Back to the Whenua

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Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

Things were changing on an almost daily basis. Worsening fatigue led to less activity and more sleep. His appetite was dwindling away as his pains continued to grow. He told us he wanted to go to where he came from. Back to his ancestral homelands. He wanted to revisit where he had grown up. He wanted to see his extended family again. His window of opportunity was closing. If he didn’t go soon he would not be able to. The clock continued to tick away. Time was running out.

No-one knew how the trip up North would go but he was so keen to try. One last road-trip with all of his children. It would be the first time his youngest had ever been away from home. He wanted to introduce his new baby to the rest of the family. To show her where he came from. She probably wouldn’t remember much as she was too young, but everyone else would. “That photo was taken when Dad took you home for the first time.”

We wished him luck as he gathered himself and left the hospice for the weekend.

Palace of Care – Hospice Garden Centre

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Photo by Tim Cooper on Unsplash

“Doctor, I’ve got a fundraising idea for the hospice.”

“Aha?”

“I’ve been going for walks around the garden and there are a lot of nice plants. Some of them you can’t find in garden centres. Has the hospice ever thought about selling plants?”

“No, we haven’t.”

“Here’s a photo of some plants I noticed. They have self-propagated themselves and are growing well. Do you think I could make a donation in exchange for two of the plants?”

“I’ll check with the gardening team, but I think that will be fine if there are a lot of the plants. What are you thinking of doing with the plants?”

“I’d like to plant them in my garden. You’ve all looked after me so well during my admission. I’d like to maintain some connection to hospice even after I am gone. So later on when my children see the plants in our garden they will remember my time in hospice as a good time.”

“That sounds nice. I’ll get our team onto it and we’ll make it happen. Don’t worry about the donation.”

“No Doctor, I must insist. I know my donation will benefit other patients.”

“Okay, Deal made.”