Hospice invites local community to come and remember loved ones at special Light up a Life Event
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 30 November 2024
UPDATED: 3 December 2024
Treetops Hospice is inviting people to remember loved ones at their special Light up a Life event on Sunday 8 December, 4pm till 5.30pm, at the hospice in Risley, Derbyshire.
The free outdoor event includes a quiet moment of reflection to remember family and friends who have died, before the lights on the hospice Christmas tree are switched on in their memory.
Over 350 people have made dedications to the hospice Light Up a Life appeal. Proceeds from dedications go towards helping the hospice to provide end-of-life nursing care for local people.
This Christmas, Tracey Thurlby-McDevitt, 44, from Allenton, will be remembering her late husband Dom with a light.
Dom, 44, died in February from cancer. The couple were told Dom had only six months left to live on the anniversary of their first date.
The day after receiving his shock diagnosis, Dom proposed to Tracey, and the couple married five weeks later.
Tracey has shared her story for the Light up a Life appeal, as part of Dom’s ‘legacy’ and to thank Treetops Hospice for support at the very end of his life.
Treetops Hospice nurses helped care for Dom during his last three nights. They provided the couple with ‘comfort and peace at a time when I was terrified’, Tracey explained.
“One of my worries for months had been doing it all on my own, especially towards the end. With the Treetops Hospice nurses, I wasn't on my own. They were just on the end of the phone. It was so reassuring.
“There were times when I was Dom’s nurse and his carer. But for those few nights, Dom needed a wife, and I could be his wife again.”
A special beam of light will be projected into the sky over the hospice from 4pm to 6.30pm. The projection time reflects one minute for every dedication made so far during the Light up a Life appeal.
During the event, there will be reflective readings and festive carols accompanied by the Stapleford Citadel Band.
The hospice site will be open from 3pm for refreshments. Christmas cards and wreaths will be available to purchase (cash only sales).
Attendees are encouraged to wrap up warm, as this is an outdoor event. There is restricted disabled parking on site. Roadside parking is available outside of the hospice. This year, the hospice Christmas tree has been kindly donated by Mr Christmas Tree in Ockbrook.
The event will be broadcast live on Treetops Facebook page for those unable to attend in person.
For more information about the Light up a Life event or how to dedicate a light in memory of your loved one on the Light up a Life virtual tree, visit www.treetops.org.uk/lights2024
Treetops Hospice, one of the leading end-of-life care charities in Derby, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, provides nursing care and emotional support for adults with life-limiting conditions, those who’ve been bereaved, and their families.
