Sarah’s story: Finding joy in creativity

Sarah continues to make the most of life and is not limited by her diagnosis. She enjoys music, psychological thrillers, museum visits, and so much more. Here, she shares her story, explaining how she lives her life in the way she wants with the support of our Living Well team, where she discovered a love of pottery…

Living a vibrant life

I live my life how I want. I can’t do everything that I used to, but with a bit of planning, I can still do other things I like to do, like going to the cinema or to museums. One of my favourites is the V&A, I love that whole arts and crafts feel to it. I am in a wheelchair, and that limits my mobility, but it doesn’t limit me. I have multiple sclerosis, which is a life-altering, life-limiting condition, but the great thing about Living Well is that it is all about enabling you to do what you can and want to do.

“Right from the start, it was very clear that it was about living the best life that you could.”

I have always been a glass half full kind of gal, but it has increased many times over, simply because of meeting other people who are struggling with their own issues. I feel you have a choice, if life gives you a lemon you can sit with a great pile of lemons or you can make lemonade. There are several things that I join in with at the Hospice, including the Sing Along Group and The Gathering, but the thing I enjoy the most is ceramics.

It’s so important not to focus on what you can’t do because that just drives you down and makes you miserable. It’s about focusing on what you can do and how you can do it.

A piece that I worked on very recently was a little planter that can go on a wall and hold air plants. It was a rotten day, and it was raining, but as soon as we started doing pottery, the sun started to come from behind the clouds.

The Hospice is not scary

I don’t think of the Hospice as a sad place. Of course, sad things do happen there, it can’t be denied. People are getting fabulous care at the time they need it, but it isn’t only about that. It’s about so much more. Initially, I had this horrible misconception about what the Hospice was. For me, it was a place for dying, and I was very much concentrating on living, so I was reluctant to come along.

Don’t be anxious, people at the Hospice will embrace you emotionally, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, just do as much or as little as you want. You can come along and access some of the support that they have, for example, I’ve been benefiting from a weekly hand massage. The volunteers are lovely, they will help you, and there are always different activities going on.

“I have since realised that hospice care is about living your best life, whatever your personal circumstances.”

There is nothing to fear, and you can look forward to making new friends. You can’t time travel, there is no tardis, but if I could, I would come back in my thirties to do some volunteering at the Hospice. Join up for the events too and take part in fundraising because at the end of it all, there are people like me who have really benefitted from what the Hospice has given them.