29 November 2023
In the weeks leading up to Christmas Claudine Blake loves to meet with her mum and sister to plan the Christmas Day dinner. “Mum’s like, ‘I’m going to do the roast potatoes and veggies and ham,’ and then my sister will say, ‘I’ll do the lamb’. Then I’ll say ‘okay I’ll do the roast chicken’ then someone else will say, ‘Oh - who’s going to do the curry?’ It’s just that time together organising and planning, I love it, it’s so much fun.”
On Christmas morning Claudine is always the first one up. She puts on her Santa hat and heads to her Mum and Dad’s on the fourth floor – they all live in the same apartment building – to pick up the food and take it to whoever is hosting the family that year.
“It’s cool, the whole family gets together. It’s a chance for my mum to see all her sisters, and everyone just chills out and has a beer and says that they love each other.”
This Christmas looks a little different for Claudine, 48, who is now being cared for by Harbour Hospice after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021. She asked her oncologist to refer her to hospice as soon as the cancer spread to her liver and lungs, and says she takes great comfort in having specialised hospice support.
Over the festive season hospice remains open every day, and knowing the service will be available whether it’s Monday or Christmas Eve is hugely reassuring for Claudine. “I can call hospice if I need them and if I’m in pain they can come to me and help.”
Claudine was 46 when she discovered a lump in her breast that led to her diagnosis. She underwent several rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and radiotherapy but the cancer progressed aggressively and she is now classed as a palliative care patient. She says she’s been surprised by how much hospice has to offer. “I wanted hospice to help me have a dignified death, but what I’ve discovered is that they’re as much about being there to help people live as they are to support people at the end.”
Claudine has embraced all that the service provides; receiving regular visits and phone calls from the community nurses, who have upgraded her pain medication. She and her parents have had a visit from a hospice counsellor and she receives massages from the hospice massage therapist.
One of the highlights has been attending hospice’s Open Doors programme, which puts on lunch and a guest speaker once a fortnight for patients and their carers. “I like hanging out with these people and I love that we all have this understanding, we know what each other are going through.”
Through Open Doors Claudine learned that she could attend free breathing classes at her local library, so she took up the opportunity with a friend. The pair have also taken up chair yoga, which is a volunteer-led programme run by hospice.
Saying yes to hospice support has allowed Claudine to make the most of her life. She enjoys meeting up most days with friends for coffee in the sun, and on a very good day, going for kebabs and mocktails.
“I’ve never been a person who gets depressed,” Claudine says. “So that has probably helped me make the most of my situation.”
It’s that same positive attitude that pulled her through after she had a serious car accident at the age of 20 that saw her flatline twice. Claudine suffered a brain injury and damage to her long-term memory.
“That – and now cancer – happened, but there have also been lots and lots of good times,” she says. “My grandmother put me through dance school from the age of four, and by 17 I was a professional dancer, dancing in Japan. I loved it. We were real entertainers with sequinned costumes, huge feathers and heels.
“I’ve tried lots of things in my life and I’ve had lots of fun, and my family and friends have always been there. Now hospice is there for me too.”
Please donate today, to ensure that Harbour Hospice can support local families every single day of the year, whether it’s Monday or Christmas Eve.
