Joy's story
Emma Litchfield lost her Mum, Joy in August 2024 at Rotherham Hospital. Emma tells her story.
“Mum was admitted to Rotherham Hospital on 25 July 2024 after returning from a family holiday in Spain. She became really ill whilst there with severe headaches and stomach pains.
After several tests it was discovered that Mum had two bleeds on her brain and cancer. We were absolutely devastated.
The hospital were unable to establish where the primary cancer was as Mum's platelet levels were worryingly low and any further tests would have been too much of a risk with her blood not clotting. She had a bone marrow biopsy which showed she had secondary bone marrow cancer.
Just three weeks after Mum’s diagnosis on 15 August, we were told there was nothing more that could be done and Mum was put on end of life care.
Mum was transferred to the Purple Butterfly Room at Rotherham Hospital on Friday 16 August. The room itself is beautiful and was a welcomed, private space for our family to spend precious time with my Mum before she passed away. The staff were fantastic, making sure we were ok, bringing us sandwiches and refreshments without invading our privacy and letting us have the time with Mum we needed to say goodbye.
Mum received great care during her time in hospital in particular from Jenny Webb and her team (Anna and Jasmine), who not only looked after my Mum but kept us as a family updated with everything and was there for us all too. They really did all they could.
Mum passed away in the early hours of Sunday 18 August 2024.
As a family, we wanted to give something back to the hospital as a thank you and a token of our appreciation for all the care Mum received whilst there. We had never heard of the Purple Butterfly Rooms before Mum stayed in there and we thought they were a lovely idea for families to have privacy with their loved ones. At Mum’s funeral, we asked for any donations made to go towards the Purple Butterfly Appeal which maintains the upkeep of these beautiful rooms.
We raised £1,600 at Mum’s funeral which we were so pleased with. Mum always loved flowers so we wanted her to have a wonderful send off full of flowers which is why we didn't expect to receive the amount we did - we were truly overwhelmed.
Our hope is that the money raised in Mum’s memory can help other families going through the loss of a loved one.
My wonderful Mum will never be forgotten. She was the most amazing wife to my Dad, and they spent 45 happy years together. Me and my brother Adam could not have asked for a better Mum, and she was the best Grandma to Darcie, Lyla, Nellie and Bear. She was a much loved Sister, Aunty, Mum-in-law, Sister-in-law, friend and colleague who will be forever missed."