For Carmen, the best thing about being a member of wellbeing is the "wonderful people"

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For Carmen, the best thing about being a member of wellbeing is the "wonderful people"

Carmen will be a familiar face for anyone who is a regular visitor to the hospice, as she’s been coming to our adult wellbeing group each week for a number of years.

She gets up to all sorts of things when she’s here, from arts and crafts and watching movies to day trips out with her companions. She told us that last year, her wellbeing group made a visit to Skegness using the St Andrew’s minibus, and it was “the best day ever”. She said: “We went to an animal sanctuary and got to see the seals which was absolutely fantastic. We all had a wonderful time.”

For Carmen, the best thing about being a member of the adult wellbeing group is the people, and she described the nurses and healthcare assistants as “wonderful”. “There’s nothing they won’t try and do for you. Even just the little things, like feeling as though you can go to them if you have a problem, for me, that is a big thing, and it means the world.”

Like most people, Carmen never thought she would need the hospice, but she said: “You just never know what life is going to throw at you. I thought I had a very different retirement around the corner.” She is grateful that St Andrew’s has been there for her, and she said now it feels “like home”.

Her favourite time to come is Christmas, because she says, “they always put on nice festive songs and decorate the hub”, but just being able to come each week is “such a big support” for Carmen. She said: “I love just coming in to do a quiz, or to enjoy some company and share a few snacks; everyone really is lovely. I would be lost if I wasn’t able to come here because I would still be in the house, wondering what is going to happen. When I come here, I always go home happy.”