Pete’s day support means so much – with help from with Day Therapy volunteer Mick

Our Day Therapy services have helped patients who are living with a life-limiting illness since the hospice in Wroughton first opened its doors. They help patients access some of our services, to live as independently as possible with the challenges they face. This means that they and their families can adapt their lives and lifestyles by using services including our twice-weekly Day Therapy, our Open Programme, the support of our physiotherapists and occupational therapists and our lymphoedema team.

For patients like Pete Garner from Swindon, our Day Therapy services have been a huge help as he has adapted to life with Motor Neurone Disease. Pete’s someone with a positive outlook on life, but he readily acknowledges that what he’s learned through the Day Therapy team has built his confidence and enabled him to cope better with his illness. “The support I have had has been excellent,” he says. “I’ve not met anyone at Prospect Hospice who hasn’t been very willing to help me, and that’s been important because I am not someone who finds it easy to ask for help. If I come with a problem then there always seems to be someone in the team who will help fix it. That ranges from the nurses and therapists in Day Therapy, through to the brilliant volunteers who are there every week too.”

Pete’s first experience of our support came when he first attended our Open Programme, our regular series of sessions presented over several weeks. “I learned a lot,” he says. “One week we explored fatigue, which is something that I live with all the time, and learned to always keep something in reserve. On another week we looked at anxiety and stress, and learned techniques about how to manage both, and these have helped me ever since. I was always quite a confident person, but this has bolstered my confidence in my life with MND. And coming to Day Therapy every week is great. My loss of ability with my hands has meant I’ve not been able to take part in craft activity, but I enjoy spending time with people in similar circumstances to mine – and the banter is great!”

Pete’s grateful for the support of the local community which means that he can benefit from a weekly session of our support. “This is a really great service for people in a situation like mine,” he says. “To people who raise funds for Prospect Hospice, as many of us do in this community, I can tell them with absolute certainty that your money is very well spent.”

Pete Garner is pictured, right, with Day Therapy volunteer Mick Blunsden.