Matt's Story

Matt was thirty-two when he passed away at the Hospice in September 2006 due to his inoperable cancer. Matt had only been taken ill in the January of that year and spent a short time in the Hospice, as well as being cared for in his own home by the Community Palliative Care Team.

Matt had lumps under his arm and in his neck which could not be removed but were very painful. It was only through the expertise of the doctors at the Hospice to administer him with the correct drugs to control his pain that he was able to continue to have as normal a life as possible.

He was a landscape gardener and had a keen love of the outdoors. He continued to garden throughout his illness, right up until his last lot of Chemotherapy. He said: “I have got things to do and I am better doing things.”

Matt had some wonderful friends who spent a lot of time with him when he was in the Hospice, as well as a fantastically supportive family who were there for him throughout his illness and ensured he continued to make the most of his life. Matt was very disappointed at one point that he was going to miss a weekend away with the ‘boys’ and was reluctant to go in to the Hospice to get help with his pain, but was convinced that he didn’t have to go there to die. The Hospice team managed to get his pain under control and organise his medication to enable him to go away. Once Matt had been able to use and see the Hospice in this way he had no trouble coming back in when he needed to.

Three days before Matt died the nurses arranged a Brighton Beach party for Matt. Matt had said he wanted a trip to Brighton with his mates and as he was too ill to go it was decided to make it possible for Brighton to come to him. There was food and drink in abundance as well as a paddling pool, sand pit, seagull & even the sound of waves crashing on the shore! One of the entertaining events of the day was two of the nurses dressing up as a donkey. This was a surprise for all the staff who worked hard to make the day happen and also, especially, for Matt.

It was Matt’s Mum, Sue, who spent most of the time with him when he was at the Hospice and when Matt was at his most insecure at night it was no problem for Sue to stay over and a camp bed was put in Matt’s room for her. Sue said: “The thing I remember most about the Hospice was the fun we had. There was one occasion when Matt and some of the nurses played a trick on one of the other nurses by hiding in the shower room behind the curtain and pulling the emergency cord, when she came running they all had syringes full of cold water, including Matt, which they squirted all over her, he had some lovely times in there, he loved being there and it was absolutely wonderful.”