These days Jenny works part-time, three days a week. In her spare time she loves to go on adventures with her husband, Mark, in the campervan he converted himself.
“I love to travel and my husband flies paragliders, so we often end up going to flying sites around Wales, Cornwall or Scotland, and sometimes abroad to The Alps.”
Jenny doesn’t fly these days, but she especially enjoys long walks with her dog, Dylan the labradoodle, who she describes as “adorable”.
Christmas can be an especially tough time when someone very close to you has died. You know the festive season won’t ever be the same without your special loved one.
That’s something Kim Marshall is acutely aware of following the death of his dear wife, Chris, at their home in Hooe, last January, aged 71. But, after receiving personal support from St Luke’s, Kim feels he’ll be able to treat his first Christmas alone as an opportunity to shine a light on Chris’s life, reflecting on the happy relationship the avid Plymouth Argyle fans shared together for 32 years.
Local primary schools have been dashing and prancing around the playground as they take part in St Luke’s brand new Rudolph Run.
The festive fun run is for schools to take part in while raising funds for the care services we provide in the local community.
Schools from across the city and the surrounding area have been taking part in the run, with the children encouraged to get sponsorship from family members, while gaining an understanding of the work St Luke’s does in their community. So far, more than £3,500 has been raised from the Rudolph Run which is enough for us to provide a package of care at home for at least 3 families.
They say there’s strength, as well as safety, in numbers, especially when you’re in the company of people who share the same aspirations and goals.
That must explain the overwhelming sense of empowerment, togetherness and possibility at the recent Hospice UK conference, where hundreds of us gathered with the common aim of making sure excellent palliative and end of life care is available for everyone who could benefit from it, wherever they live in the UK and whatever their circumstances.
Bereavement is hard at any time of year, but the festive season – and Christmas itself -can feel particularly challenging for anyone experiencing grief. No-one understands this more than us. As well as providing specialist end-of-life care for people with terminal illness, we offer their family members bereavement support too.
This week (2-8 December) is National Grief Awareness Week, in association with The Good Grief Trust. The aim of the week is to raise awareness of grief, highlight the support on offer and to normalise conversations around it.
