“Water is Danni’s happy place.”
Andy
When water-lover Danni Mason suggested going for a swim in a lake after being admitted to St Christopher’s inpatient unit, she was not sure it would be possible.
But after an almighty effort by different teams across the hospice, as well as support from Beckenham Place Park Lake, Danni, 45, and husband Andy Ratcliffe, 44, were able to take a dip in the water last week.
The couple, from Sydenham, are regular swimmers at Beckenham and were amazed the team could pull it off. In fact, the lake was specially opened for their visit.
“It’s a treasured place for us,” Andy said. “We have so many memories from there, Christmas and New Year Day swims, five-minute dips in February. It was such a profound experience, it was pure joy.”
“There aren’t enough superlatives to describe how amazing it was,” Danni said.
“Water is Danni’s happy place,” added Andy. “Water and nature, just floating and so the team here were absolutely incredible. Until it happened, I don’t think we had any expectation that it would actually be possible.”
Danni and Andy were joined in the water by Katie Grace, Clinical Team Lead and Helena Talbot-Rice, Rehabilitation and Wellbeing Consultant Lead, while Specialised Physiotherapist Simone Clark and Ward Manager Emily Alcock were on the sidelines in case they needed any support.
The couple were so grateful for the dip that they ordered a cake custom-made as a thank you for the team at St Christopher’s.
The cake reads “I can’t feel my feet, hands or face, but I f******* love this.”
“Thank you to absolutely everyone from St Christopher’s who helped to get me to the lake on Tuesday. It was literally a dream come true.”
Danni came into St Christopher’s in August and her ambition to swim in the lake was in response to a question we ask all of our patients; What Matters To You?
She was also keen to be pain and sickness free and in a calm environment.
“It’s so different to hospital,” Andy said. “It’s such a calm place. After the swim, Danni had a shower and then was given a massage, it was like a spa day!”
“The team are taking care of me too,” he added. “I’ve had a massage too.”
“I can’t feel my feet, hands or face, but I f******* love this.”
Before Tuesday’s swim, Andy had been taking Danni down to the garden in the hospice and putting her feet in the stream to get her as close to water and nature as possible.
Prior to admission, Danni was under the care of the St Christopher’s community nursing team which meant Andy was able to contact them with any concerns.
“Having someone to ring made such a difference, because before that, you’d be told to go to A&E. After St Christopher’s came in, our nurse would come out or a doctor would come to see us. So you get the treatment and reassurance or advice.”
Rehabilitation and Wellbeing Consultant Lead, Helena Talbot-Rice, who was on hand to support on the swim, said: “We were so delighted to be able to support Danni and Andy to do what mattered most to them.
“We couldn’t have done it without the amazing team at Beckenham Place Park Lake who opened up especially for us, and allowed us to drive the ambulance up to the Lake, and were on hand to support throughout.”
“This is why asking ‘What Matters To You’ is so important, it improves outcomes for patients and those closest to them.”
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