Understanding Life, Laughter and Loss in Hospice Care

People often ask me how I do the job I do. How I go to work facing the possibility of death on a regular basis. They ask how I do a job that would be hard enough anyway but throw in adverse personal circumstances.

Personally, I think if you ask most of us at Beaumond House our experiences are the driving factor for working in Palliative Care. 

How I see it... I may not be the best Nurse clinically nor the one who shows the most empathy and certainly do not come to me for a hug. But I feel I understand. And it is from this understanding I find myself able to not only hold the hands of patients at the final moments of life but also to make patients laugh and smile when really if we are being honest there is nothing to laugh or smile about. 

Yes, I cry at the end of a shift but also more frequently I smile. I smile when remembering the Marys. The Mary who I sat comforting in the middle of the night who was terrified of not being able to breathe, however when fighting for breath told me 'I would like to see you run being chased by a fox'.

The Valeries who went out in style with a cocktail of Morphine, Red Wine, and Metallica. The Margarets who held a naked protest whilst packing her suitcase as she was determined to go home and die with her animals. She got her wish.

And the lovely Lily who was not ready to die as she desperately wanted to see another Christmas. She had the last laugh as she took her last breath with an unexpected snowstorm and Smooth Radio playing the first Christmas song, I had allowed myself to hear this year.

And this is where Beaumond House is special. We get the opportunity to do it right. As Nurses we are able to deliver what we are fundamentally taught nursing is... holistic person and family centred care. And it is for this reason I am proud to work at Beaumond House and am able to answer my opening question with no difficulty. 

So please take a moment to remember those individuals that are no longer with us....​

The Ian's, the Davids, the Mikes, the Marks, the Joans, the Marys, the Margarets, the Valeries, the Lilys and the Toms with the cheeky smiles. The list is endless, but they all hold a special place in our hearts. 

Carly Gibson-Crass, Registered Nurse at Beaumond House​