Six teddy bears with mum’s voice donated to hospice patient’s children

Thanks to a kind donation to Ashgate Hospicecare, Susan Clarke, who is a patient at the hospice, has been able to give her six young children teddy bears customised with her voice inside which they will be able to cherish forever and remember their mum by.

The Supportive Care Team at Ashgate Hospicecare, a local hospice that covers the North Derbyshire area, have been working closely with Susan Clarke, 40, a Day Hospice patient who has also spent time on the ward, and her six children who are aged between 5 and 16 years old. The children have received counselling as well as art therapy from the team, which is 100 per cent funded through donations.

Susan, from Middlecroft, said, “I’m absolutely over the moon to be able to give my children such a special gift. They’ll be able to cuddle these bears when they feel sad, and it makes me feel better to know that they’ll always be able to be comforted by my voice.”

“Ashgate Hospicecare’s Supportive Care Team have been working really closely with each of my children and have helped us to talk about what’s happening to mummy. They’ve also helped me to prepare memory boxes for each of them. We’d discussed for a while how wonderful it would be to have teddy bears that I could record a special voice message in and I’m so pleased that we’ve finally been able to do it. The kids love them already!”

Sharon Herriot, Art Therapist at Ashgate Hospicecare said, “It is thanks to a kind donation that we’ve been able to go that extra mile for Susan and her children. We are supporting some of the children through group art therapy in school and the others through one to one counselling sessions. This support will be available as long as the children need it and offers them a safe space to think about their difficult feelings through play, art and talking.”

“When people think about the hospice, they often think of the ward and the Day Hospice, but they don’t always know about the support services that are also provided and are absolutely vital to families like Susan’s. We’re really grateful to people in the local community who supports us, through generous donations to the hospice, which enable us to offer these vital services completely free of charge.”