Sara Gretton Shelley Harrison YW.PNGTwo nurses have worked together to help a terminally ill cancer patient visit her friend in Spain.

Yvonne Watson, never thought her dream of seeing her friend who lives a thousand miles away was even possible because of her illness and complications, but when she told her nursing team they took on the challenge of making her dream come true.

Sara Gretton, Palliative Care Nurse Specialist and Shelley Harrison, Community Nurse at Hilltop Heights, Carlisle pulled out all of the stops, going above and beyond and working collaboratively to make the dream happen. Yvonne has expressed her gratitude and said that it was due to the support and encouragement from the Palliative Care Nurse Specialists and Community Nurses the dream was realised.

Yvonne said “I would like to say thank you to Sara and Shelley. It has meant so much having two lovely nurses come into my life and make such a difference. Initially it wasn’t thought possible that I would be able to travel but with their care, encouragement and support they made it happen. I am so grateful to them.”

Led by Sara and Shelley, both teams visited the Yvonne to assist with holiday preparation, and offer advice where able, to ensure the she was able to travel comfortably.

Sara said “I know Yvonne is also extremely grateful for the ongoing support she is receiving, and the input from our teams has clearly impacted her greatly, as she thought of us whilst away, and brought back holiday souvenirs for us both.”

Shelley said “it has been a great experience working with the patient to achieve her dreams.

I am in awe of Yvonne’s strength and determination, as soon as she mentioned she wanted to go on holiday, we encouraged her to do just this, within 3 hours she had everything booked and achieved her adventure, Yvonne also plans to go back in September.

“I kept in touch with Yvonne over the course of her trip, and she was able to update me about the weather and spending time with her friends and relaxing! It made me feel so proud!”

Two days before she was able to fly out, Sara took the time to visit her to ensure she had the Covid app so that it made everything easier once she got to the airport. Yvonne’s friend made sure she had an escort once she arrived and on her return.

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