Brave daughter jumps out of plane for Ashgate Hospicecare
Karlie Johnson from Brampton has completed a charity skydive challenge and raised over £2000 to show her gratitude to the team at Ashgate Hospicecare after they provided excellent care for her Dad, Dave.
Dave Johnson, 53 was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer on Christmas Eve 2013. Despite undergoing chemotherapy to stabilise the tumour, which was successful to begin with, Dave was readmitted to hospital where he was put in touch with Ashgate Hospicecare.
Sharing her story, Karlie, 23 said:-
“The care is definitely more personal than in a hospital and Dad definitely relaxed at the hospice knowing that he was getting the care he needed. The facilities were really amazing too. Things that we take for granted like having a bath after a long day – that was all dad wanted and they allowed him to have one. He was given a private room too that had a patio with a table and chairs. It was like a little sun trap – we’d take dad out there when he was having a good day and we’d sit in the sun and eat chocolate and share cans of pop. I treasure those memories from his last few weeks, and it was Ashgate Hospicecare that made it all possible.
“To say thank you to the hospice for the amazing care they gave I decided to skydive in memory of Dad to raise money for them. Dad said he was going to do one for charity before he was diagnosed with cancer, so when he got poorly I said I would do it instead. I was waiting until he got better so he could come and watch, but sadly he passed away before I did it.
“After many months of fundraising, I finally did my skydive and managed to raise a grand total of £2067.06! I work at The Rose and Crown in Brampton and they’ve also pledged to raise £5,000 for the hospice’s £1 Million Urgent Bed Appeal.”
After just 4 weeks at the hospice, Dave sadly died on 7th October 2014 whilst Karlie was on holiday in Turkey.
Karlie adds, “I’m not sure what we would have done without the help of Ashgate Hospicecare. They took a load off of our shoulders so we could just focus on dad and how he was. They were amazing from start to finish and always kept us in the loop.”
Ashgate Hospicecare, Chesterfield, provides specialist palliative and end of life care to local people and their families across North Derbyshire and the High Peak and Dales. It costs £8.5m each year the charity, which receives an NHS grant of £2.5m but has to raise a further £6m to ensure these vital services continue to be provided.
