Bereaved woman backs hospice Bring-a-Pound Day appeal

Emma Bradley, 27, is encouraging people throughout Derbyshire to support the Bring A Pound Day on May 2.

The partnership with Peak FM aims to bring in as much as possible for Ashgate Hospice by getting schools, businesses and organisations to sign up to Bring-a-Pound Day with everyone donating a pound each and holding fundraising activities.

Emma’s Mum Jane Silvester died in December at Ashgate Hospice from bowel cancer.

The family has a genetic condition which predisposes them to the disease, but her diagnosis and death still came as a huge shock.

Jane’s 50th birthday celebrations last June were particularly poignant as that was the age Emma’s grandmother had died from bowel cancer.

But just four months later the same devastating diagnosis came through.

Emma, from Chesterfield, said: “We thought Mum had a blood clot in her leg.

“She had but that was because the cancer had spread. We think it started in her stomach and by the time she got the diagnosis it had spread to her liver, lungs and pancreas.

“It was a total shock to all of us, even though we have lived with Mum having this condition all her life it still sneaked up on us.

“Mum was only in the hospice for four days but I’m so glad she got there. Hospitals are not very comfortable or calm places especially at the end of your life.”

Emma was even able to take her new Patterdale puppy Dill in to see her Mum just a couple of days before she died.

She added: “At Ashgate, they treat you like a person, not just another patient. Everyone always has time to talk to you and listen to you and from the first day they were just so comforting and caring.

“They are almost life friends, like being part of a big family that does wonderful things and they are continuing to help me even now. That’s why I will continue to support Ashgate and would encourage everyone to do the same.”

Ashgate is the second largest hospice in the East Midlands with more than 7,000 patient contacts a year. The independent charity provides specialist care and support to local people with life limiting illnesses and their families across North Derbyshire and the High Peak and Dales.

Alongside the Chesterfield-based 21-bed inpatient unit and 16-place day unit, Ashgate provides a range of care and support in people’s homes allowing them to remain as well as possible for as long as possible.

It receives an NHS grant of £2.1m but has to raise a further £3.8m each year to ensure these vital services can continue.

If you would like to support Bring a Pound Day, why not sign up your school, business, local club or organization.

On May 2 the Peak FM team along with volunteers and staff from Ashgate Hospice will be out and about across North East Derbyshire finding out what you’ve been doing and collecting your pounds that will make such a difference.

To get your fundraising pack, call the fundraising team on 01246 567250. You can also donate by texting QUID57 to 70070 or go to the JustGiving fund raising page www.justgiving.com/bringapound14.