“Mum’s really sick.” That’s what Melanie McLeod and her ex-husband told their two young boys late last year. “Doctors can’t make her better.” In five months, Melanie had gone from a vibrant, busy solo Mum of two to a shadow of her former self, the disease affecting her bones and causing excruciating pain.
Melanie’s illness was giving her so much pain that by October 2015 she could neither stand nor sit. She couldn’t raise her arms above her head and hadn’t washed her hair for a month. She could barely take care of herself, let alone her beloved boys.
Melanie came into Hospice North Shore’s Inpatient Unit (IPU) to get help with the complex symptoms associated with her illness. It was no easy task getting her pain management balanced. But in time, the specialist team managed it. Melanie was able to smile and laugh again.
Next was the challenge of getting up and about. Hospice North Shore’s physiotherapist gave Melanie gentle exercises to strengthen her muscles. IPU charge nurse Bev Platt worked alongside her step by step to develop techniques that allowed her to get up again. First she rolled over in bed, then supported herself into a seated position and eventually, after several weeks, put her feet on the floor and stood.
After five weeks of bed baths my first real shower was amazing,” says Melanie. “And to be able to wash my own hair at long last was wonderful!”
Then came the real victory: getting back home. Melanie returned to Torbay armed with ongoing care from her family and friends as well as Hospice North Shore’s team of community nurse and family support services. Her boys come and visit her in the room she has had set up, and her partner CJ is right beside her. “I returned home with a sense of peace, empowerment and excitement.”
Like so many people, Melanie had thought Hospice was a place people only go to die. ”I came to realise it is, in fact a place of healing and hope.”
Melanie is focused on making each day the best day possible and Hospice North Shore’s services are right there beside her; supporting her drive to LIVE EVERY MOMENT.
Excerpt from Melanie's journal:
I instantly felt at ease. I felt the compassion and warmth and knew my stay would be profound.
What I once thought was only a place for end of life care became a place of healing, freedom and hope.
Hospice is a gift to those willing to trust in the process and accept the help and care.
You can find more personal stories here.
