Nick’s why…
In the final stages of my Mum’s life, she was moved into a Hospice and it has only been on reflection and since working at the Anne Robson Trust that I have understood what a privilege that was in terms of the environment and level of care. The last words I can remember my Mum saying were “What a lovely place to die” when she first saw the birds feeding on the bird table in the small garden through her window by her bed.
When my Grandma and Mum died there were “good” and bad aspects to their deaths which made what the Anne Robson Trust do resonate with me. I certainly wish I’d known some of the things we teach in our Simple Wisdom workshops at the time. One example being the body’s declining need for nutrients and the complications food can cause at that stage. That was never communicated to my family, so we were concerned and frustrated that more was not being done to try and help my Mum take on nutrients. I believe empowering individuals to be better prepared to understand and deal with someone dying in an open and pragmatic way is a powerful thing.
Professionally, I found the Anne Robson Trust at a time when I wanted to move to an organisation in its early stages so I could be part of creating an exceptional and innovative place to work with a team and culture capable of making a profound difference to people.
I think past generations would baulk at how disconnected and medicalised our approach to death and dying has become and I love that our Charity is making a difference in bringing comfort and companionship to people in the final stages of their lives.
