Mandy's journey with The Myton Hospices is a heartfelt reflection on the compassionate care both her parents, Ken and Joyce received...
Mandy’s dad, Ken Potter, was admitted to Warwick Myton Hospice in 1997 for two weeks of pain management after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and secondary bone cancer in 1996.
After these two weeks, Ken continued to attend Myton once a week.
Mandy commented on this experience, saying:
He spent a lovely couple of weeks being cared for by the amazing staff. Even when he continued attending each week, he still had such a lovely time and he enjoyed it thoroughly. I remember he made a bird box during his time there which was beautiful.
Ken died at home on 22nd June 1997, aged 69. Mandy added:
After my dad passed away, I ran the London Marathon in his memory and raised over £2,000 for The Myton Hospices.
I have made a promise to myself to continue to raise money for this amazing charity as Myton recently came back into my life when my mum, Joyce, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in August 2022. She was admitted to Warwick Myton Hospice in December for her final week of life.
As a family, we tried our best to fulfil her wishes of dying at home, but it all got a bit too much. After a few stressful incidents at mum’s house, we decided that a bed at Myton would be best for everyone, and thanks to Kathy at Myton, we managed to get her one.
Mum was in a lot of pain and was constantly sick, so being at Myton meant we could focus on being her children again and not her carers. This meant so much to us all and took the pressure off for her last couple of days which we treasure dearly.
Once again, the staff were incredible. They allowed us to visit when we wanted and let us care for her still. We would wash and dress her, making her smell nice… glamorous till the very end!
Joyce died on 11th December 2022 at Warwick Myton Hospice after five days here, a week after her 87th birthday.
Mandy added:
They kept her pain free and comfortable. We were treated with so much respect and were allowed to stay with mum for as long as we wanted.
She loved her family so much, with six children, 14 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. She was also surrounded by her amazing friends, whom she loved spending time with.
We can’t thank everyone at Myton enough for allowing mum to die with dignity.
Mandy has definitely succeeded in her aim to raise money for Myton, as she has organised and participated in a five-hour spin-a-thon at her workplace, The Warwickshire Health Club, which raised almost £1,000. Mandy has also conquered our Snowdon at Sunrise challenge.
Mandy said:
It was so challenging yet so humbling, meeting so many people with their own stories of grief. There was such determination from everyone to get to the summit!
Together with her team of 12 amazing participants, Mandy raised an incredible £6,715!
Reflecting on Myton, Mandy added:
The place is definitely run by angels and is a true gift to all the families.
From the bottom of our hearts thank you so much to Mandy, her wonderful family, and friends for their incredible support of The Myton Hospices and for sharing Ken and Joyce’s Myton story with us.
This year it will cost £14.3 million – that’s over a million pounds more than last year and you may be surprised to know only 20% of our funding comes from the NHS.
This means we have to raise £11 million to continue to provide our services free of charge and support people living with a terminal illness, and their families, from the point of diagnosis to end of life across Coventry and Warwickshire.
If you’ve been touched by Ken and Joyce’s story and inspired by Mandy’s fundraising we would love to hear from you!
You can see our upcoming events here.
Or if you wish to support of Christmas Appeal and help us raise £25,000 to give the gift of care this Christmas please click here.