Skip to main content
Menu
Donate

Clarissa's story - Great endings never end

Clarissa loved the bright lights and the razzamatazz of Blackpool. But when she was rushed into hospital following a cancer diagnosis, she thought her days being beside the seaside were over.

gift in wills

Clarissa's story

Clarissa had been planning a family holiday in the popular resort. Instead, she spent two weeks in our Thorpe Hall hospice in Peterborough with her family by her side. 

Those precious two weeks gave Clarissa a chance to say goodbye to those she loved – including four year-old granddaughter Ilsa who brought Nanny flowers and enjoyed spending time in our play area. 

But our team of Sue Ryder Nurses knew there was something special they could do to give Clarissa a grand finale. Unable to go to Blackpool Beach on her longed-for holiday, they brought Blackpool to her. 

Clarissa’s bedroom becomes a beach

The Sue Ryder team hung fairy lights around Clarissa’s room, brightening her bedroom with her own version of the Blackpool Illuminations.

They decorated every wall with postcards, posters and photos of the seaside, and even brought in seashells, a deck chair and beach towel. The theme was completed with models of seagulls and sailing boats. 

With a gift in your will, you can make sure that great endings never end

Clarissa was delighted, and so were our staff. Because this is exactly what we believe in – enabling people to live their final days as they wish, with happiness in the company of their loved ones.

Guide cover, with the title 'Let your kindness and care live on'

Order your free Gifts in Wills guide

Find out how to write or update your Will and see how your kindness and care can live on through our work. Available via email or in the post.