Lottery as a Gift

Why Brenda became a member of the Lottery

I made a promise to my friend, Magdalena, that when she died I would come and volunteer at the Hospice as my way to say thank you; and since 2017 I have been helping out in any way I can.

Magdalena was a young woman who lived opposite me. She was the mother of two children, a 2-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. She was sadly diagnosed with cancer and since her parents were unable to visit her because they lived abroad, I took her under my wing.

Because her children were so young, they required a lot of care and attention, so when Magdalena felt unwell and unable to deal with the physical demands, I would help her out. It would be things like taking the little ones to the park, making them lunch, and tucking them into bed.

I remember once when Magdalena asked me “why are you doing this, why are you being so nice to me?” and I replied, “If I lived as far away from my daughter, as your parents do from you, I would hope somebody would care for her”. If you able to help somebody, why wouldn’t you?

At first, I would accompany her to the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where they specialised in cancer treatment. As amazing and helpful as the hospital was, there came a point where the doctors made the difficult decision to stop her treatment. She was told that the growth on her renal artery could not be operated on because it was too dangerous and nothing more could be done.

It was at this point that I suggested Hospice in the Weald to her. At first, she refused, in her mind a Hospice was just a dark, scary place where you go to die. I remember on our first visit; Magdalena was extremely worried and emotional, but I think she quickly saw that the Hospice was very different to what she had imagined.