Sarah’s Story

Caring for children at the end of the lives, and after they’ve passed away, is a relatively small, but hugely important, part of what we do within our children’s services. We have a private bereavement suite, The Garden Room, where a family can spend time saying goodbye to their child after they’ve passed away.

It’s a comfortable space, with its own private access. There’s a lounge, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms and families can use the rooms however they choose, personalising them with photos, teddies and their own bedding. The Garden Room is available for children and young adults who have died at the hospice or elsewhere.

For Mum, Sarah Hopes, our Garden Room gave her, and her family, precious time to say goodbye to her son, Ethan, who passed away just a few short hours after he was born. 

“We knew that our baby had life and purpose inside the womb, he was ours and so wanted. There was a possibility he could live through a full term pregnancy and that we would meet him once born, we hoped and prayed this would be, we wanted to love and cherish our baby. At 16 weeks we learnt he was a boy and we named him Ethan, meaning strong, steadfast, warrior.

“Our beautiful Ethan was born at full term on 2nd February 2016 at 6.40am. He came home with us to meet his big sister Annie and other family members and friends. He knew nothing but love during his 7 hour stay on Earth, before peacefully returning home to heaven, straight from his Mummy’s arms into the arms of Jesus. 

“The services and support we received enabled us, our family and friends to have four precious days with Ethan’s little body after he had died. We spent time in the Garden Room, got to know him more and just soaked him in for as long as we could. The staff were wonderfully kind and compassionate, making an incredibly sad and difficult time somewhat more bearable. Our 21 month-old daughter, Annie, had never played so hard in her life as she did there and she really came to more understanding of how precious Ethan is to us all.

“We have wonderful joyful memories of our beautiful Ethan and his life has already blessed many hearts. As a family we want to keep celebrating him and continue a legacy for him. One of the ways we want to do this is by partaking in and organising fundraising events for Dougie Mac, towards the wonderful support they offer to children and young people with life-limiting conditions and to their families. It truly is such a special place for precious times in life.”