Donna Butler with Bayside Health Service palliative care staff
Summary
A generous donation from a local family in memory of their husband and father will benefit other local families as they navigate their loved one's palliative care journey.
A generous donation from a local family in memory of their husband and father will benefit other local families as they navigate their loved one's palliative care journey.
Donna Butler and her family generously donated four recliners and two regency chairs, iPads and a book for grieving children called The Invisible String.
Donna recently recounted her family's journey with remarkable strength, bravery, and practicality.
"I spent many hours in a recliner next to Joe; he was 52 when he died from cancer in June 2020," she said.
She described how the palliative care teams’ kindness and professionalism deeply touched Joe, who was British.
"Joe was so grateful that the palliative care team took him in and cared for him in such a welcoming way," Donna said. "Their support was invaluable, especially in the middle of COVID when his friends and family couldn't be here.
"It was one of his final wishes to acknowledge the care he received from the palliative care team," she said.
Within months of Joe's diagnosis in 2019, Donna relocated her family from overseas, settled her children into a new school, and established a new home in Birkdale to ensure they were close to her Australian family for support.
Knowing that her children would soon lose their father, Donna’s priority was to create stability and normalcy for her children.
"My kids were 12 and 14 at the time. We wanted to ensure that when Joe passed, nothing else in their life changed; that they still went to the same school, and their home environment remained the same," Donna explained.
Despite the heartache of Joe's illness and the challenges of the pandemic, Donna found solace in focusing on a way to give back and after Joe's passing, reached out to his friends and family to raise money for the hospital in his memory.
Donna said the donation helped the entire family find a way forward.
“Almost from the day he was diagnosed, his friends and family couldn’t see him, they couldn't be here. They couldn't come to his funeral.
"It is ok to grieve, to break, but raising this money allowed us to take the focus off ourselves a little and making this donation gave us focus for our heartbreak and a way of thanking everyone."
Donna's message to other families facing similar situations is clear.
“The books donated talk about how people who love each other are always connected by an invisible string, a very special string made of love. Say everything you need to say. Even if you think they know, it's important to verbalise your feelings."
Donna said she continued to stay in touch with the palliative care team at Bayside Health Service.
"I'm incredibly grateful for Carol and Sue, and we've stayed in contact four years on," she said.
Redland Hospital Giving Day is will be held again this year on Thursday 5 September 2024 and donations can be made via The Redland Hospital Fund.