Francis and Diana’s Story

Diana and Francis, both 67, had been together for more than 17 years and got engaged in October, last year. The couple knew they wanted to get married one day, but hadn’t made any plans.

Over the last couple of months Diana had been receiving support from Dougie Mac’s Community Nurses. She’d mentioned to them that she would really like to arrange her wedding, so when she was admitted to the hospice, the care team helped Diana and Francis with their plans and they got married on Saturday 22^nd March, followed by a blessing on Monday.

Francis, explained, “Since Diana arrived in Dougie Mac, nothing was too much trouble. Kath, the Ward Manager even came in on her day off to make sure the wedding went smoothly.

“Diana’s bridesmaids and the nurses got her dressed and ready and we had a lovely service in the Spiritual Space within the hospice, led by a celebrant. Afterwards we pushed Diana’s bed into the conservatory and enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea with our guests. There were around 14 of us all together and all the food was planned and prepared by Dougie Mac’s catering team, it was really special.”

Diana’s daughter, Bethany added, “It had been Mum’s wish to get married for many years, but when she became ill, I think she’d accepted that it might never happen. On the day of the wedding, she was the most awake and alert she’d been for weeks, she really rallied herself for her special day. There were lots of tears from everyone, but the wedding was a great distraction too, it took our minds off everything and we had a lovely day. It was so important to Mum and she was so happy.”

The couple followed their wedding with a blessing on Monday, led by Harry from Dougie Mac’s Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care team. 

Francis added, “Harry did a lovely blessing in Diana’s room with twelve of our family and friends. I sat down with Harry beforehand to share more about Diana and our life together. He really took time to listen and included many personal stories about us in the service. It was really special.”

Diana was diagnosed with lung cancer almost two years ago. Her oncologist referred her to Dougie Mac a couple of months ago and she had been receiving support from Dougie Mac’s Community team before being admitted to the hospice. Diana sadly passed away on Friday 28^th March.

Bethany said, “The advice and support Mum received from Dougie Mac has been amazing. The 24-hour advice line were incredible, just being able to pick up the phone at any time of the day and night for advice on Mum’s condition or her medication was a God-send.”