Lindsey Lodge: Crafting Lasting Memories

Charlotte and Julie, Advanced Assistants from Lindsey Lodge Hospice and Healthcare, were called upon to offer their compassionate care to a patient nearing the end of her life. The patient’s family desired to create lasting memories that they would cherish forever.

At Lindsey Lodge Hospice, crafting memory boxes is a special initiative that provides patients and their loved ones with an opportunity to create and share precious moments. This practice often begins earlier in the care journey as part of advanced care planning, helping patients come to terms with their diagnosis and regain a sense of control.

Occasionally, the Lindsey Lodge team are asked by community partners to share their expertise with patients and families who urgently require their assistance. In this particular case, Charlotte and Julie visited Scunthorpe General Hospital to support a patient and her family in creating these meaningful memories.

While spending time with the family, they shared heart warming stories and memories of the patient, highlighting the importance of family in her life. Together, they crafted a family tree, where each family member and the patient placed their fingerprints in vibrant colours that held personal significance.

One of the patient’s sons requested a truly special keepsake. They created a beautiful handprint from his mother on a wooden heart plaque, which he planned to take home and add his newborn baby’s handprint to, creating a treasured heirloom. Additionally, several fingerprints were taken to be tattooed by the family members as a lasting tribute.

Moved by their experience the family expressed their deep gratitude for Charlotte and Julie’s time and commitment in helping them create these cherished memories., they donated £105 to support memory work resources at the hospice, enabling the team to continue their valuable work.

The Specialist Palliative Care team provided positive feedback, expressing their appreciation for Charlotte and Julie’s assistance.

“We and the family were extremely grateful for your help and support. There was so much positive feedback from the family, and they were so happy that they have made memories that will last a life time.  I feel that the things you brought really brought a personalised approach to what we were trying to achieve, and it was a lovely touch.”

The experience reaffirmed the team’s commitment to their work and the positive impact they can make on patients and their families during difficult times.

“As a team we felt it was a privilege to go out into the community and share what we do with patients and families whilst working at the hospice. It shows the difference we as team can make to patients and their families at difficult times. We came away with the reminder that this is the reason we do what we do” – Charlotte Howsham, Advanced Assistant

At Lindsey Lodge we are proud to be able to offer support to palliative and end of life patients in North Lincolnshire beyond the confines of our hospice. Partnership work such as this, and our very own Butterfly Line, which provides 24/7 telephone advice to anyone living with a palliative diagnosis, showcases our ethos to put patient choice and goals at the heart of what we do. Lindsey Lodge exists to support all North Lincolnshire people from the point of diagnosis, whether they are a patient of ours or not and we were proud to be able to make a difference to this patient and her family when it mattered the most.

For more information about how we support patients outside of our inpatient service visit our Wellbeing Centre page or our butterfly line page.