Emma and Ophelia's Story

Emma’s four-year-old daughter, Ophelia, is supported by Hospice in the Weald for Children. Here, Emma explains the benefit of this support, the value of the Hospice’s children’s specific events, and how trust plays a big part in the care and support available to Ophelia. 

“She loves interacting with other people,” Emma says. “That’s where Hospice and the Weald have come in. “It’s great because they come to our house and they just play with her. They do some arts and crafts with her, and it’s great because she’s, well, quite complicated.” 

“Everyone’s child is obviously super precious to them but when your child’s got a lot of medical needs going on, there’s not a lot of people that you trust.” 

For Emma, events held and run by Hospice in the Weald for Children have offered a lot, too – in various way. “We’ve then got talking to other families at the events and made friends with them and learnt stuff from them, and stuff like that. So, it’s quite nice to connect to other families. 

“We have told a few friends about the service because it gives you a break because, for parent carers especially, I guess the mental load is very high because it’s not just looking after the child. It’s all the appointments they’ve got to go to, scheduling meetings with X, Y and Z, ordering prescriptions, you know, all that kind of stuff. 

“Just having that time once or twice a month, it’s just nice just to be able to take a break.”