Lindsay's story

My name is Lindsay and along with my two brothers Dale and Ian we completed the Olympic Distance Triathlon which is a 1.5km swim, a 40km bike ride, and a 10km run in memory of our Dad Dale who died at Dove House. Completing such a huge challenge on Father’s Day meant so much to us, it was incredible.

Our dad was such an amazing person. He worked hard all of his life to provide for us. Everyone knew my dad and he was highly thought of, he was a painter and decorator by trade and was never short of work. He had a huge love for the history of Hedon and ran a Facebook page with old Hedon photos and memorabilia. He had huge collections of photographs, many very old, and also kept a diary since the 1970s, every day without fail. He loved metal detecting and found many precious things, and he loved football, of course!

Dad was found to have cancer and tumors in his bladder, following this they discovered tumors all over his body. It was hard to know how he felt, he just accepted it and made sure things were all in order for my mum and us.

As a family we were devastated, it felt unreal and so unfair.

A few weeks after Dad received his terminal diagnosis the hospice was recommended to us. My dad knew many people who had been to Dove House and had expressed himself when the time was right that was where he wished to go.

Coming to Dove House was like a huge weight had been lifted from our shoulders, we felt more relaxed and calmer. It was lovely, so very calm and peaceful, just what we needed.

I see Dove House as a place where people are looked after as though they are the staff’s family members. Lots of smiles and lots of reassurance, where no question is a silly question. Dad’s last five days were comfortable and peaceful, all his needs were met and that is thanks to the amazing job of every single person who cared for him at Dove House.

I was aware of the fantastic reputation the hospice has for respite and end-of-life care as I work at Hull Royal Infirmary and as a family, we have now experienced that firsthand. We wanted to fundraise for Dove House because we know how much we desperately needed their care during a time we never imagined we would have to face, and the reality is that there are so many families like ours. What would happen if your loved one became ill? We need our hospice to continue to be able to be a safety net, you honestly don’t know what is around the corner and when you may need them.

Our wish would be that everyone who needs to turn to Dove House for care and support can. But that is only able to happen when people like us fundraise for the hospice. We also know that fundraising took a huge hit during the pandemic, so we wanted to help even more.

The hospice did an amazing job when as a family we were at our very weakest and lowest point in our lives. We don’t know what we would have done if the hospice hadn’t been there for us. Our fundraising challenge is our way of being there for the hospice when they need it.