Maggie Smart is living with lung cancer and spent nine weeks in the hospice. She was so happy with her care that she asked to share her experience with us just before she went home.

“The welcome I got when I arrived at St Wilfrid’s was so lovely. To be honest, I felt so ill that I thought I wouldn’t be going home. But the staff have been brilliant; they’ve bolstered me up and got me well enough to go home.

My doctor put me in touch with the hospice just over a year ago once we learnt I had cancer. Since then, I’ve had therapy with a counsellor, breathing lessons and exercises with the physiotherapists, and visits from their community nurses. I’ve also used the Nurse Line helpline, and when I was at home, they phoned to check on me every so often.

I arrived on the Inpatient Unit earlier this year following a week in hospital with constant sickness, diarrhoea and bed sores. I couldn’t bear anyone near me when I felt so poorly, but over the weeks, the doctors prescribed different medications until they found the right one. The treatment I’ve had has been absolutely wonderful and hospice staff have been marvellous.

The doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, cleaners and host volunteers are all very friendly and pop in and have a laugh and a joke with you. I can’t sing their praises enough and they have all in their own way lifted me. In the first couple of weeks, I didn’t really want to know anything, but they’ve brought me on.

And it’s such a lovely view of the garden from my bed. March is a nice time of year with the flowers coming up and the birds coming in, and I’ve seen squirrels, ducks and even a woodpecker.

When I first came in, they had to put me on wheels to take me everywhere. Now I can get in and out of bed and am walking around again. Being at the hospice has really helped me a lot and my confidence is back.

My husband John has been involved all along and once I’m back home, Nurse Line has said for him to phone any time. It’s nice for us both to know they’re at the end of a telephone.

Without the hospice’s care, I would probably have ended up in a much worse state than I was and possibly given up. It’s been a big transformation for me, and they’ve given me a new lease of life.”

We can only offer this care thanks to the support of our local community. Visit www.stwhospice.org/giving to find out how you can help.