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Victoria's story: "Why I chose to leave a gift in my will to St John’s Hospice"
As part of the national “This is Hospice Care” campaign, we’ve been speaking to some of the incredible people who have chosen to leave a gift in their will to St John’s Hospice. Their generosity helps ensure we can continue to provide comfort, dignity, and compassion to patients and families when they need it most.
This is Victoria’s story. Many of you will know Victoria and her husband James from the hospital corridor outside the hospice, where they can often be found with their business, Vishana, selling beautiful pashminas, blankets, cashmeres, and jewellery. Remarkably, Vishana donates 20% of every sale back to the hospice. But Victoria’s connection to St John’s goes much deeper than that.
“I first became connected to St John’s Hospice in 1995 when my ex-partner Jonathan was very ill with amyloid disease. At the time, I was working at St Mary’s Hospital, and a nurse I knew suggested the hospice. Jonathan was admitted for respite care three times over the following year. On his final admission, he passed away peacefully at just 42 years old.
“The staff were amazing. Despite his multi-organ failure, Jonathan was kept free from pain, something extraordinary given how rare and cruel his condition was. His consultant had once described amyloid as ‘the suffering disease.’ But thanks to the hospice, his last moments were dignified, and he was surrounded by the love of all of us who cared for him.
“I was able to be beside Jonathan when he died, and that experience completely changed my view of death. Because of the care he received, his passing felt less like an ending and more like a release, almost like a birth. He was given the peace to let go of his suffering without fear, and we were given the gift of sharing that journey with him. If he had died anywhere else, we would never have experienced that. That is the power of hospice care.
“St John’s truly go above and beyond. When Jonathan died, arrangements had to be made for his body to be returned to Israel, where he was to be buried beside his mother on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. St John’s staff worked tirelessly with his family to make it happen. At the same time, the hospice Chaplain held a memorial service here in London for those who couldn’t travel. He even included Jewish prayers, making it truly special.
“It’s because of all this that I’ve chosen to leave a gift in my will to St John’s Hospice. I can’t think of a more meaningful place to support.
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“Hospices don’t just care for the patient - they care for the family and their carers too. When you’re exhausted and overwhelmed, the chance for your loved one to receive respite care is a lifeline. Hospices hold families through the hardest days of their lives, and this support is absolutely vital. For me, leaving a gift is my way of saying thank you and of ensuring that future families can experience the same compassion and peace that we did.
“Next year will mark 25 years of standing in the hospital corridor with Vishana, raising funds with the support of the St John’s Fundraising team. Along with our legacy gift, it’s our way of giving back to a place that gave us so much.”
Leaving a gift in your will, just like Victoria, helps ensure we can continue to provide our quality, holistic care for all, for now, forever. If you’d like to learn more about the campaign and the impact of gifts in wills, please visit www.stjohnshospice.org.uk/campaigns/this-is-hospice-care, where you can also request a free Gifts in Wills guide.
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