Following the deaths of her mum and aunt, Denise wanted to use her experiences to help others navigating end of life care and bereavement, leading her to become involved with The Myton Hospices as a volunteer.

Today, she volunteers on our Inpatient Unit at Warwick Myton Hospice and is also one of our Compassionate Neighbour volunteers, supporting people in the community.

While travelling to work in London, Denise received a call from Birmingham Hospital telling her that her mum had only two hours to live. Rushing back to Birmingham, she discovered her mum had an oesteo-arthritis flare up, and developed Covid, sepsis and pneumonia whilst in the hospital. Denise said:

We managed to get Mum home, but the nurses couldn’t manage her pain. She died in August 2022 and, to be honest, it was a rather horrific death.

Shortly afterwards, Denise’s aunt was diagnosed with dementia.

After Mum’s death, I wanted to make sure my aunt had the best care and death possible. I got in touch with a soul midwife and we worked together to make sure she had the best death possible. I wanted to make sure she died surrounded by the things she loved. She loved gardening, so I filled her room with flowers and covered the walls with pictures of plants and flowers.

Struggling with her mental health, on the first anniversary of her mum’s death, Denise decided to paint the sunrise every morning for a year. She said:

Symbolically, the sunrise represents hope and new beginnings, and that’s exactly what it brought me, along with a sense of routine. I would sit at the top of a hill near my mum’s home, wrapped up in warm, waterproof layers, and paint the sunrise every day. No matter the time, weather or location, I was always outside ready to paint. Even when visiting friends, I was always painting the sunrise. It was easier to get up in time in the winter!