3
In July 2013, Lorraine was told her cancer was in remission
and her health really started to pick up. She started to be
able to use a stair lift to get upstairs and sleep in her own
bed again (as she had been living downstairs) as well as
walking without the aid of a wheelchair. Although she still
needed a carer while Jade and her sister were at work,
the Palliative Care Nurses and Occupational Therapists
were there to help.
Then in November 2013, Lorraine’s health started to
deteriorate. Jade told us: “Mam started getting very
confused and falling down regularly, she had been doing
so well, it was a massive shock. As my Mam continued
to receive care at the Hospice, I made the decision to
completely shave my head. I saw this as an opportunity
to pay St. Clare’s Hospice back for the support they had
provided to my family. I set the date of 10th December
2013, the 1st anniversary of my Nana’s death.
“Toni and Guy offered to shave my head for free so I went
ahead. Unfortunately, my Mam was too ill to see me get
my head shaved. She was in St. Clare’s at the time, so
I went back to the Hospice to show her and all the staff
who I had got to know really well.”
Jade’s head shavewent viral and local comicChris Ramsey
even shared the link to her fundraising page with his fans.
Donations started pouring in and Jade increased her
target to £2,500. She said: “Once the donations started
to come in I was on a roll, I put so much energy into my
fundraising. I am smiling with happiness even now talking
about it. I was contacting businesses, using social media,
I couldn’t stop! My workplace, Utilitywise were really good
and allowed me to hold dress down days where my work
colleagues really got behind me. It was unbelievable.”
As Lorraine got more unwell, she spent some time at St. Clare’s Hospice for respite care. At the beginning of 2014, Lorraine
was told that she did not have long left to live.
On 1st February 2014, Lorraine was admitted to St. Clare’s Hospice for end of life care. Jade explained: “My Mam had
initially wanted to go home but we all agreed that St. Clare’s was the best place to meet her needs. The nursing team at the
Hospice were amazing. They did everything they could to make my Mam comfortable and relieve her pain and at the same
time support our family. Going to St. Clare’s Hospice turned out to be the best thing for Mam and for us as it enabled my
sister and I to be her daughters and not her carers. We were able to pamper her and I used to give her facials and massages
to help her relax, really making the most of the time we had left.”
On February 6th 2014, at the age of 59, Lorraine died from
cancer of the liver whilst at St. Clare’s, sadly leaving behind
her two daughters and two grandchildren.
Jade continued: “It was a really difficult time for our family
but the staff at St. Clare’s were amazing with us”.
Jade continues her fundraising efforts and has raised over
£5,000 so far. She plans to be a lifelong supporter of the
Hospice. Watch this space to find out what Jade will do next!
Jade would like to thank the following for their support:
•
Utilitywise, North Tyneside
•
Photographer, Andrew Gill
•
Café Nero, South Shields
•
The Sandancer/Crab Shack, South Shields
•
Powerhouse Gym (H2N Nutrition), South Shields
•
Claire and the team at Toni & Guy, Newcastle
Jade Matthews
