Today we would like to honour the life of Trevor Markbride from Cleator Moor, who sadly passed away age 64 in July 2021.
In 2020, Trevor was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus and a brain tumour, meaning he would undergo chemotherapy and other forms of treatment over the coming months. As a family, Sue and Trevor were very private people, and initially very independent and did not feel comfortable accepting any help from others outside their immediate family.
Once Trevor received his diagnosis, he spent many months in hospitals around the northwest receiving treatments, all during the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning visitation for Sue was not possible for the entire time that Trevor was in hospital.
As Trevor’s treatment was building up, there were many different medications to help control Trevor’s diagnosis, which was difficult for Sue. Previously, Sue managed this using a spreadsheet she created, which enabled her to plan and manage the times and dosage of each medication. However, after a short while this was impacting on their relationship, and from then onwards they made the decision together to ask for some help.
Whilst Trevor was in hospital, they were given a patient pack with useful information and contact details of people who are there to help, which they kept for future use. Amongst this pack, was a card for Hospice at Home West Cumbria, which is how Sue was made aware of our organisation and made initial contact.
From then onwards, our wonderful hospice nurses provided support for Sue and Trevor in their family home, covering night shifts during the week. Sue said this made a huge difference to their daily routine, as it enabled her to get some well-deserved rest knowing that Trevor was being looked after in the safe and caring hands of our nurses.
At first, Sue was a bit sceptical about allowing strangers to enter her home and leaving her husband in the care of others. However, after the first meeting Sue said she had this instant connection with our nurses, and she knew this was the right choice for herself and Trevor. Our nurses enabled Sue to get well-deserved rest each night and shifted a lot of responsibility off her hands such as medication control, to enable her to enjoy precious moments with her husband, without any worry or stress.
On the day Trevor sadly passed away, Sue started her day as normal, and was preparing to take their dogs for their usual morning walk, until one of our hospice nurses advised Sue to call a friend or family to walk the dogs as she knew Trevor was going to pass away shortly. Sue said this will stay with her forever. Although this is a bittersweet moment, Sue said if it wasn’t for this nurse being so honest, she wouldn’t have been there for his last moments, and this is something she will be forever grateful for.
Sue said from the bottom of her heart, she can’t thank our nurses enough for their compassionate care, and the connection they formed with herself and her husband which put them in such ease.
If you have any queries around the care and support we can provide, please contact our Home Nursing Team on 01900 705200 or email info@hhwc.org.uk.
