Photo (Flynn Hunter at Kingdom of the Elves Entrance) – Bluestone also kindly offered complementary tickets for access to Kingdom of the Elves and the Blue Lagoon Water Park to Paul Sartori staff and their families
When Bluestone National Park Resort made contact with Paul Sartori recently – the team were emotionally lost for words as they were offering free accommodation to a number of patients suffering with a life limiting illness, and their families, the opportunity to stay at Bluestone. Including access to the Kingdom of the Elves and passes to the Blue Lagoon Water Park – all in the weeks leading up to Christmas! Providing unsurpassed Christmas memories.
“When we received the message from the team at Bluestone, we were honoured to be able to offer this remarkable gift to a number of our patients”, explained Sandra Dade the Charity Manager of Paul Sartori, adding “Bluestone have helped us recently with a prize for our 35th Anniversary Raffle; a grant towards our E-Commerce Project and our team have recently benefitted from a marketing workshop so we were once again thrilled with their generosity.”
Sales and Marketing Manager from Bluestone, Glenn Hewer said “Paul Sartori is a wonderful local charity which supports so many local families. At Bluestone, we recognise the powerful difference a break here can make to all of our visitors and we were delighted to have offered a little support to such a worthwhile cause.”
The Paul Sartori clinical team then had the decision of which families were to benefit. “This was a difficult task, but we did identify families with children who would benefit further from the kind offer from Bluestone,” said Laura Hugman Clinical Team Manager at Paul Sartori. “This thoughtful gesture was received with an emotional response. For a family to receive this opportunity of creating happy memories at a very difficult time is a special gift,” added Laura.
The patients and their families have truly benefitted from the gifts and enjoyed the experience at Bluestone, with family members adding “I just want to say thank you for being so kind and generous to me and my family. We have had a truly memorable holiday and the first one since my husband became ill. Without Bluestone’s offer and Paul Sartori’s help with transporting equipment and nursing cover it would not have been possible to have a family holiday together.” And “We had an absolutely fabulous time, the holiday did myself and my 3 grandchildren the world of good. It was a real release from a year of doom and gloom and it was very special to be able to see the children being children. They got to play, go for walks, we saw woodpeckers and squirrels and the views from our lodge seemed to change every day. None of us wanted to come home, and not even the rain could dampen our spirits. So a huge thank you to everyone involved.”
The Paul Sartori Hospice at Home Service provides a range of services to people living in the final stages of a life limiting illness, including home nursing care, equipment loan, complementary therapy, bereavement and counselling support, clinical nurse specialist in palliative care, physiotherapy, advance care planning and training. The services provided by the Paul Sartori Hospice at Home Service enable people in the later stages of any life limiting illness to be cared for at home with dignity, independence, pain free and surrounded by those they hold most dear. Further information on the charity and its services can be obtained by visiting their website www.paulsartori.org, or by phoning 01437 763223.
Judith Williams, judith@paulsartori.org, Paul Sartori Hospice at Home Service, tel: 01437 763223 (19th December 2017)
Notes to Editors:
Paul Sartori Hospice at Home Service:
- is particularly keen to dispel the belief that it is a ‘cancer charity’ as this deters people with other life-limiting conditions from contacting the Paul Sartori Foundation (32% have a non-cancer diagnosis)
- operates an open referral system with around 15% of referrals from patients, family and friends. The biggest referral group is District Nurses, followed by Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialists and hospital staff
- was established in memory of Father Paul Sartori, a much loved local priest, who recognised a need for hospice care, but unfortunately died of cancer at the age of 39. The Foundation was set up in his memory and provides care to people with any or no faith, and not just Catholics
- charity was registered in 1982 and celebrates its 35th anniversary during 2017-2018