Lesley Soos - wife, mother, nanny, daughter and sister. Died at the age of 54, just 11 short weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer and secondary liver cancer.

Our lives have been turned upside down by the loss of Lesley, her whole family are truly heartbroken and although all the fundraising in the world will not bring her back to us, we just hope that we can contribute towards helping others who may find themselves faced with a loved one nearing the end of their life by helping to raise money to fund the setup of an additional Purple Butterfly room at the hospital. 

These rooms help to provide comfortable surroundings and the appropriate facilities to ensure people can remain in the company of their loved ones for as long as they can.

Although we are not from the Rotherham area, Lesley was admitted to Rotherham district general hospital while attending her sons wedding at the nearby Aston Hall.

Soon after being admitted to Rotherham hospital It was discovered that Lesley was now faced with an inoperable complication and that only palliative care was available to her.

The Rotherham Hospital and community charity set up the Purple Butterfly Appeal to help raise awareness about the importance of providing compassionate and specialist end of life care and to raise money to fund Purple Butterfly rooms, which provide privacy, dignity, space and a home from home for people nearing the end of their lives, their families, friends and carers. 

The Purple Butterfly rooms are private, comfortable and include all the necessary equipment and facilities patients and their families need to stay close to remain close to one another when every minute counts. 

Each room costs more than £75,000 to install and includes a sofa bed, microwave, kettle and toaster, private shower and bathroom and a television.  The  Purple Butterfly appeal are currently fundraising for a fourth Purple Butterfly room and need your help more than ever.  

Lesley’s family were able to stay with her in one of these rooms when she needed them the most, this also meant they were able to be by her side when she passed away peacefully. For that we are eternally grateful.

Thank you for reading

Patrick, Kelly, Karl and Chloe x