Christmas can be such a wonderful time. A time for friends and family, love and laughter. But for some people Christmas can also be a difficult time that makes the pain of separation or loss harder to bear.

Ann is one of those people after both of her parents said their final goodbyes in the month of December. Both of Ann’s parents also died in hospital, but sadly that’s where the similarities end.

Ann’s father passed away like many others do, on a hospital ward, surrounded by strangers with nothing but a curtain to provide them and their family with peace and privacy in their final days.

But Ann’s Mam was luckier as she was able to spend her final weeks in what The Mater Public Hospital calls a Family Comfort Care Suite.

The Family Comfort Care Suite is two adjoining rooms where families are able to care for their loved one right up until the end and it includes everything a patient and their family need so they can focus on spending precious time together.

The suite allowed Ann’s mam to experience the compassion, care, and dignity we all deserve in our final days and hours. But neither Ann or the Mater Foundation want it to come down to luck.

 

“None of us want to be in the position of losing a loved one but the truth is it happens to all of us at some point. And when that time comes, having the use of a Family Comfort Care Suite makes all the difference. When we learned that Mam was incredibly sick, the doctors thought she might only have a matter of days left.

Initially, I wanted to take her home to pass. But after talking to staff about the level of care Mam would need to keep her pain-free and comfortable in her final days, we agreed that the hospital was the best place for her. But I was terrified that like my dad, Mam would end up passing on a ward with only a curtain to provide her with the privacy she deserved. So you can imagine my relief when we were offered the Family Comfort Care Suite.”

We need your help to build another Family Comfort Care Suite at The Mater Hospital so that more patients like Ann’s mam will get the peaceful passing we all deserve.

This Christmas you can help get this project off the ground and build a new Family Comfort Care Suite. Your gift will help make sure that a family’s final memories of the person they’ve lost are of the love, care, and peace that filled those final days.