Glamorous singing star, TV character actress, inspirational and loving mother, vivacious and supportive grandmother and great grandmother, Jean Dike lived her extraordinarily full life with dignity, elegance and grace until the very end.
One of Plymouth’s best-loved entertainers and matriarch of a large, unconventional, artistic family, she embraced several identities during her lifetime.
If you ever visit our specialist unit at Turnchapel one of the first things you will notice are the carefully cultivated gardens surrounding the hospice building.
Every Wednesday a group of 6 volunteers have been giving up their time to dedicate some care and love to our gardens, keeping them pruned, de-weeded and full of life. Their hard work creates a peaceful, welcoming space for patients, families and staff to enjoy – a place where nature offers comfort and calm during difficult times.
Life as a paramedic was fast-paced, stressful and involved critical decisions every single day for Jess Timbrell. After several years of training and hands-on service on the road, she was both confident and qualified to respond in emergencies and make split-second choices to save people’s lives. But something was missing.
“I always had an interest in palliative care,” said Jess. “As a paramedic, you go out to a lot of people who are at the end of life, but you can’t spend the time you want with them because emergency demand is so high.
“It was so disheartening sitting with someone in an ambulance queue outside the hospital for hours, knowing they didn’t have long to live. And then when I did drop them off, I would never find out what happened to them.”
St Luke’s was overflowing with Christmas spirit last Friday as staff went above and beyond to create a warm and joyful evening for current patients and their loved ones, as well as families who will be missing someone special for the first time this year.
Team members from across our organisation came together, giving up their own time to create a magical occasion featuring sparkling decorations, festive refreshments, Christmas music and live seasonal songs from the Burraton Boys and a raffle with super prizes.
Our specialist unit at Turnchapel was filled with festive cheer last week as the kind-hearted TEC Construction helped us to light up our beautiful Christmas tree – standing tall enough for our patients to enjoy its sparkle from their windows.
Thanks to TEC Construction and their local subcontractors at LTC Access Platform and ACD Electrical – the night’s sky was lit up with hundreds of multi-coloured lights and a shining star sitting atop of the impressive tree – watched on by our nurses, patients, family members and members of our community including children from Hooe Primary Academy who graced everyone with a selection of beautifully sung Christmas carols.
Residents of Redvers Grove in Plympton, Plymouth have come together to light up their street in a dazzling display of festive cheer – all to raise vital funds for St Luke’s.
Each of the neighbours on the street have adorned their houses and gardens with illuminating white Christmas lights, a tradition which started 24 years ago and has since grown as more and more people have moved to the street.
A sprinkling of Christmas cheer has brightened up our specialist unit this week.
A group of kind-hearted volunteers from Land Registry, Plymouth volunteered their time to decorate the Christmas trees that have generously been donated to St Luke’s by Blue Diamond Endsleigh Garden Centre Ivybridge.
The team spent the day adding touches of tinsel and baubles to the entrance, reception and on the wards, bringing some festive joy to not only the people staying with us, but their families, visitors and all our staff and volunteers.
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.
Men’s Day Out – 12km Charity Walk • Pint • Pasty • Rugby
We believe in celebrating the special people who are no longer with us, especially during the festive season, which can sometimes be particularly difficult.
As you know, at St Luke’s, we are here to support terminally ill patients and their families who will be spending their final Christmas together, as well as those facing their first Christmas without a dear loved one.
The one thing we never forget is that people are not just their illnesses – their illness is something that happens to them. With that in mind, we make sure we focus on the entire life of each individual patient and what matters most to them and their family members. We do our best to provide the support that allows them to enjoy and make the very most of the time they have left together. And later, we carry on being there for those left behind as they cope with the pain of loss.
We invite you all to join us at our Light Up a Life Remembrance Services on Tuesday 16 December to remember and celebrate those we have loved.
