Hi everyone, 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I just wanted to share with you a short brief background of our story. We wouldn’t have known what to do if we didn’t have St. Clare’s hospice’s support! 

On Tuesday the 9th of May 2023, my mum Joanne and my auntie Jackie went round to my grandads bungalow as the did very often to give him some company and to help with the housework duties. When they arrived, they had found my grandad on the floor, unresponsive. They immediately phoned an ambulance where he was taken into Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford. 

When he had arrived, he had a few scans and tests. A few hours later, the hospital staff came back and told us that grandad had suffered a minor stroke in the past. This explains why grandad always used to fall over a lot. That evening, grandad got transferred to the stroke unit upstairs where he was for the next 5 weeks. It was a long 5 weeks and grandad had his 81st birthday in hospital. All of his close family visited regularly and sometimes with the children he absolutely adored but he also didn’t know who we was and was totally unresponsive still. I would like to thank Joanne and Jackie for being with grandad every single day morning until evening visiting grandad in hospital to make sure he wasn’t alone and to also keep a close eye on him. We came up to 5 weeks in hospital when the staff had come round after doing their assessments and things to tell us that grandad isn’t making any progress and that if he was to carry on, he would be severely disabled and remain the same, unresponsive, not able to communicate etc. we all knew that grandad would hate this life and we all knew he really wouldn’t want to be put into a care home. We had a few talks with the hospital staff and it was decided that grandad would be better off in a home environment instead. Almost a week later, grandad was able to go and live with my auntie Jackie where he spent his last few days. He still was visited every day by Joanne and all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren whilst Jackie was also there with him 24/7. We would have really struggled if we didn’t have St Clare’s hospice, they were amazing. They was there any time of day for support, if we had any questions and the nurses that came out were absolutely sympathetic and understood what we were going through. Grandads last days were getting tough as we knew he was going downhill. On Saturday the 17th of June 2023, grandad peacefully passed away with the family that he loved with all his heart around his bed; this was Joanne, Jackie, Jade, Paige and Brooke. We reassured him that it was okay to give in after a long 6 weeks of fighting and that Nan was waiting for him up there. We told him we loved him and will all be okay before he took his last breath. All of us, even St. Clare’s hospice team had said what a fighter he was. He was so strong to go on for so long in such a situation but I strongly believe that he was waiting for just the right moment of when all of his loved ones had came to visit to say his goodbye. 

Again, thank you to St. Clare’s hospice for even after grandad had passed away for offering support.I am strongly grateful for St. Clare’s we really did need them at the hardest of times so I would love to repay the help that they have given us at this hard time to help fundraise and give them something back. 

I will be walking on the 17th of September with my daughters Ruby and Myla,  Jade and lily to remember my Grandad Brian and to my daughters, Old Grandad but also my nan, Irene who was also known as Old Nanny.. Although Nan never had St. Clare’s hospices help, I would like to take this day especially to remember all the good times and memories we had. 

Thank you so much for reading my brief story; I really hope you can help me raise some money to this amazing hospice that have supported not only my family but my grandad especially. 

Forever in our hearts; until we meet again.

Brian Pidgeon 1942-2023 

Irene Pidgeon 1942-2021