Why Robert is sharing wife Lesley’s story and supporting St Luke’s Hospice

But now husband Robert is sharing the story of how St Luke’s Hospice helped his family through their darkest time in a personal bid to encourage people to support one of Sheffield’s best-loved charities.

Robert, Lesley and seven-year-old son Liam were living in Stannington when Lesley received the devastating diagnosis that her cancer diagnosis was terminal.

“When Lesley was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, it came as a huge shock to our family,” Robert admits.

“We were given the terrible news that it was incurable and that the cancer had spread and it was at this point when we were referred to St Luke’s.

“Lesley was in a lot of pain towards the end of her life but we were so grateful that St Luke’s could be there when she needed pain relief, so she could continue making special memories with me and Liam right up until she died.

“They made her feel comfortable which made such a big difference not just to Lesley but for all of us around her.

“The nurses were absolutely incredible - they didn’t just look after Lesley, they looked after me, all our visitors and made us feel so welcome.

“The St Luke’s team were amazing, compassionate people - they always had a smile for me and always went the extra mile to make sure I was okay too.

“Although it didn’t stop me worrying and it was such a difficult time, I knew she was being well looked after and was no longer in pain, allowing her to enjoy precious time with her family.

“Lesley being cared for by St Luke’s put me at ease and allowed me to be a husband and a dad to Liam again.

Liam losing his Mum was the most devastating thing to happen to both me and Liam but this is why we are donating what we can each month to make sure that St Luke’s can keep supporting families just like us.

“I want to make sure they can help other people too because I really don’t know what we would have done without them.”

St Luke’s senior fundraising manager Anna Kirk said that a regular gift could make an enormous difference to the work of the hospice in supporting the people of Sheffield.

Just £6 per month could contribute towards the St Luke’s Bereavement team, supporting relatives and loved ones with counselling sessions and support, while £12 a month could a month could contribute towards the Community Nurses delivering vital care and pain relief to patients in their own homes and £15 per month could go to the ongoing cost of providing 24 hour specialist palliative care for up to 20 patients at a time in the St Luke’s In Patient Centre.

Each year, St Luke’s supports almost 1,800 patients, their families and their carers.

But it costs around £12 million - or £1,300 per hour - to maintain the excellent levels of St Luke’s service, with more than £7 million of that sum coming direct from public support.

“At St Luke’s we are here to support patients and their families across the city at a time when a terminal diagnosis has turned their life upside down,” Anna explained.

“Our teams work incredibly hard to bring as much comfort and support as we can to people who are on that journey.

“It’s something we feel passionately about and something we’re determined to keep doing for future generations.

“By setting up a regular, monthly donation to St Luke’s in memory of your loved one, we can keep caring for Sheffield families, just like Robert’s.”

To start a regular gift to St Luke’s visit www.stlukeshospice.org.uk/monthly-donation