Kind, selfless, caring and compassionate…these are the words that David Pearson uses to describe his wife Anita.
And they represent too the words he would use to describe the care Anita received from St Luke’s as she reached the end of her battle against cancer.
“Anita enjoyed living life to the full and still had so much to look forward to when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2022,” says David.
In the cancer’s early stages, Anita was referred to our Community team, receiving support at the family home in Grenoside.
Eventually, though, it became clear that Anita needed the sort of round-the-clock care she could only receive on the St Luke’s In Patient Centre.
“None of us had ever visited St Luke’s before so we were all amazed at the quality of everything and once you are there, you no longer feel worried,” David recalls.
“For the first few days she was at St Luke’s, we were able to have visitors and the most important visitor for her was our first grandson Alfie.
“The whole St Luke’s team makes the patient and their family feel special and loved, everyone is treated with such dignity and compassion and you know you have physical support, mental support and emotional support.”
Like many other people, the Pearsons did not know that St Luke’s receives only 25 per cent of its funding from the government – and that’s when they decided to do some fundraising for the charity.
“Our sons Jonathan and Christopher promised their mum they would take part in the Sheffield Half Marathon in her memory and this year, together with family and friends, they raised over £8,000 for St Luke’s.
“We have a St Luke’s tribute page too that has raised more than £3,000 - and it’s lovely to see the nice things people have said about Anita.”
It’s why David is now also sharing the family’s story as part of our new Regular Giving campaign, encouraging more people to give their support to St Luke’s.
The recent national hospice funding debate addressed the fact that Hospice UK – the umbrella organisation for hospices across the country – reported a staggering £77 million funding deficit.
Hospices like St Luke’s are feeling the crippling impact of rising costs and the cost of living crisis, with government funding covering only a quarter of costs.
That means we have to raise £10.5 million of the £14 million needed to keep vital services running each year for Sheffield families.
A £6 monthly donation could contribute toward the St Luke’s Bereavement team supporting relatives and loved ones with counselling sessions and support, while £12 a month could go towards the St Luke’s community nurses delivering vital care and pain relief to patients when needed, in the comfort of their own homes.
And a gift of £20 a month could contribute to the ongoing cost of providing 24 hour specialist palliative care for up to 20 patients at a time on the St Luke’s In Patient Centre.
To find out more about the new St Luke’s Regular Giving campaign and how to make a regular donation click here.