Mum and two daughters all nurses at hospice - giving 70 years between them - video Dailymotion

SWNS

Cheri Deans, 61, has worked at Marie Curie Hospice in Cardiff for nearly 30 years, inspiring her daughters Leaah, 40, and Charlie, 39, to join the team.  Both daughters started their careers after being inspired by their mother’s dedication. Leaah and Cheri are Healthcare Assistants, while Charlie is now the hospice’s Housekeeping Supervisor.  The family shares a passion for providing end-of-life care, helping patients feel comfortable and supported in their final days.  Cheri is proud of her daughters' work, and their story is part of Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal, which raises funds to support vital end-of-life care.  To donate, visit Mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil.

Transcript

00:00I'm Charlie. I'm Shelley. I'm Leah. When I started here, yeah, it was going to be my

00:13forever job. I didn't intend on looking anywhere else. I think I'm doing 28 years now, hoping

00:20I've inspired these two to work for Manicurie. I was only 20 when I started. A job came up

00:26and I applied for it and got it. I'll be 20 years this year, this September. It is

00:34quite a rewarding job. But we grew up in the places, obviously, where my dad used to pick

00:38us up, pick my nana up. We used to be the ones having to run in to get her. On the nursing

00:44side, I've been here for 21 years. I started a little bit different to my mother. I started

00:52on a scheme that was called the Wag Team for the Welsh Assembly Government. When I

00:58first started, I worked the ward and I would follow the patient home to their home when

01:02they wanted to die at home. I would have all the continuity and then see it all the way

01:07through to the end. I did that for four years and then the scheme ended, so I completely

01:13started working ward-based then. With my shifts, I don't tend to see my mother a lot. I work

01:19nights in the week and then nights or days on the weekend, whereas she works the half-day

01:23shifts. If I do see her, it's normally half an hour of that, when I come round to hand

01:29over. We're not really under each other's toes. Charlie, as well, I would see her on

01:35the weekend, but where she's working office-based as well, she could be off in the office doing

01:40all the other bits and bobs. We're not really in each other's comfort zone, so it's not

01:45too bad. When we are together, we can get on fine. I think this is my favourite job.

01:52I'm going to be retired, so I think probably you guys as well, won't you, until you retire?

01:57I think so, yeah. I've had other job opportunities, like in Belindra and things like that, but

02:04I've still stayed here because the management are good, they look after you. They look after

02:09you with my shifts around childcare. We just love working with the patients as well, so

02:14giving them the best care at their end-of-life stage.

02:16Privilege, to be there at this time in their lives, and to be asked into their lives at

02:21this time, it really is a privilege.

02:24We had a patient recently, he's passed away now, but he had dementia as well. He was so

02:30confused and he was agitated. We managed to FaceTime his wife, who unfortunately is in

02:36another hospital at the time as well. We arranged to have his dog brought in, because he was

02:40crying where he used to walk his dog every day. So, it's the small touches that make

02:44a big difference to the patients, and it makes a big deal towards the last stages of their

02:49life as well.

02:50I think it's what makes this place special, the little things people remember, it's definitely

02:55little things.

02:56Yeah, the bigger hospitals won't allow it, but we go the extra mile, which is always

03:01amazing for our patients.

Mum and two daughters all nurses at hospice - giving 70 years between them

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