When Peter Wicks was told he was being referred to the hospice, he broke down. “I cried,” he says. “I just thought it was where people go to die. I didn’t want to come.”
After four weeks in Hospital, Peter was exhausted, struggling to manage his pain and frightened about what would happen next. When a nurse suggested the hospice could help, it did not feel like hope. “It felt like the end.”
His family tried to reassure him, but the fear stayed with him, even on the journey there. “The ambulance crew said it would feel like a spa when I got there,” he says. “I thought yeah right. But when I came in, everything changed.”
“They were straight over making sure I was alright. Settling me in, asking if I wanted a cup of tea, a biscuit,” he says. “It just felt calm. Kind. Nothing like the previous weeks .”
Peter, from Hemsworth, came to the hospice with severe hip pain, alongside living with prostate cancer. “I just didn’t want to be in pain anymore.”
It wasn’t long before Peter’s pain was under control, and he was starting to feel like himself again.
“The difference is massive,” he says. “My symptoms are managed now. I feel like a different person.”
Vicky, one of the healthcare assistants on the ward, has seen that change. “When Peter first came in, he was really struggling,” she says. “As his symptoms have been managed , you can see his confidence coming back. He’s chatting, laughing and being himself again.”
Peter said: “I get on with everyone here. The nurses, the healthcare assistants, the catering staff. We’re always laughing and joking. It lifts you. The food is incredible,” he adds. “The cheesecake’s been my favourite.”
Although not all of his family live nearby, they encouraged him to give the hospice a chance. “They kept at me, and I’m glad they did.”
When Peter talks about the care he has received, he pauses before answering, taking time to find the right words.
“I can’t thank this place enough,” he says quietly. “What they’ve done for me means everything.”
Now preparing to go home, Peter says the biggest change is how he feels about the hospice itself.
“I wouldn’t be scared to come back,” he says. “That fear’s gone.”
In fact, the experience has stayed with him in a much bigger way.
It’s made me a lifetime supporter. I’ve already made a donation. I just wanted to give something back.
For Peter, the hospice became something he never expected.
“It helps you feel like yourself again,” he says. “I couldn’t have been more wrong to start with.”
Every day, people like Peter arrive feeling frightened and in pain. With the right care, that fear can turn to comfort, confidence, and feeling like yourself again.
Read more stories like Peter’s here
