"They offer end of life care, but they're about living well. You don't know how long you've got - nobody does - but this is a lovely way to live until you die. I feel well supported to go home."
Alan had been feeling unwell in lockdown and didn't want to go to the doctors due to Covid-19. After a few months the pain got worse and he called for an ambulance.
"I was taken to Hospital and within half an hour I was told I had cancer which had spread,"h he explained. "I asked what my prognosis was and the doctor said: 'It's not good'.
"I've had a good life and I've been lucky in my health. I was happy to come to the Hospice. I obviously discussed it with my wife, but she's got Alzheimers so she doesn't understand a lot. It's hard to leave her.
"I think most people see a Hospice as the end; the end of the story. I was in the IPU for two weeks and I feel better now than I have for two years. When I came in I thought I was here to die but the Hospice is so happy, and everyone is so kind. I felt so secure and so safe. It really is a happy place.
"I fell in love with my wife 56 years ago, and we are still very deeply in love. My wife was visiting and she smelt a rose which was in the IPU. The staff noticed and unbeknownst to us, they picked three more from the garden and put them in a vase for me. They told us they'd do a dinner for us. We had the room to ourselves; staff had scattered rose petals on the table and we had a candlelit meal. We were so overwhelmed; what a lovely thing to do.
"It's hard to sum up what I think of the Hospice but I've not taken a step back since I've been here. Little steps at a time, but always forwards. I couldn't get out of bed or go to the toilet on my own. They are wonderful, they do anything for you."
