Thank you for taking the time to visit Fei Liu Fine Jewellery's JustGiving page.

We are holding a competition to help raise money for Ashgate Hospicecare. If you kindly donate to Ashgate Hospicecare through our JustGiving page, you will be in with a chance to win one of our beautiful jewellery pieces.

Ashgate Hospicecare is an independent charity (no. 700636) based in Chesterfield that provides care to patients with a life-limiting illness and their families across North Derbyshire. All of their services are provided free of charge.

Please donate £2 or £5 and help bring hospice care to families, like Lucy's, when it matters the most. Lucy Piekarski was only 15 when her father, Tony Piekarski, known to friends and family as Tony Pie, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Lucy reflects on the treatment Tony received from Ashgate Hospicecare, both at home and in the Inpatient Unit. 

“I remember coming home one day in November, aged 15, to my Pap sat on the sofa. He wanted to talk. I knew he had been for some scans, but I never believed there would be anything wrong with him. 

When I heard the words “stage 3 prostate cancer”, everything turned to slow motion. I never thought that what had happened to my Mum, who was my age when she had to experience her mother going through cancer, would happen to me. I kept pretending all the while that my dad would be fine. 

From that day onwards, we all did what we could to make every day count and make sure that my Dad’s promises were fulfilled. He suffered with his illness for five years in all. Throughout that time, we gave up more and more of our commitments so that we could care for him. My education was always a priority with dad, so being at school during this time was very difficult for both of us. 

We had always received regular visits from the Hospice at Home Team, but my brave-faced Papi had always refused any extra visits. It wasn't until he told us that we needed to start making decisions, that we realised he was in need of 24/7 care and pain symptom management and needed to go into the Inpatient Unit at the Hospice. It was a relief for our whole family when he came in. During my Dad's time here, The Ashgate Angels, as we liked to call them, were there to answer to his every need. They knew what to do better than us and they weren’t scared like us. They made what was an alien situation to us feel very normal. 

Our family were able to rebuild many of the bonds that were strained over the years by the stresses of care-giving. When he came into the Inpatient Unit, we were able to spend valuable time together as a family. I was able to be a daughter again and my dad was able to be a dad. Before this, we had tended only to reminisce about the good old times together, however Ashgate Hospicecare allowed us to make the last days count and to still create memories. My dad was able to leave this world in the way he wished; pain-free and in peace with my mum, his best friend, by his bedside. I still have a broken heart, but I enjoy visiting the Hospice's beautiful gardens to speak with him, because I truly believe he is visiting me there too.”

To find out more about the care that Ashgate Hospicecare provide, please visit: https://www.ashgatehospicecare.org.uk/

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.