Midnight Walking for Mum – Anthea’s story

Dorothy House is excited to be returning to Bath Pavilion this year for the 2024 Midnight Walk! One of our most popular fundraising events. This year’s theme is ‘Bath’s Biggest Pyjama Party,’ with participants raising funds to support our Hospice at Home service.

Everyone taking part in the Dorothy House Midnight Walk has their own reason for why they’re walking. Whether it’s walking in memory of a loved one, to raise funds for a local cause, or because they have a connection to the Hospice, everyone has their own story, which is what makes the event so special. For Anthea, it’s a way of giving back to Dorothy House after we cared for her mum, Debs.

Walking for Debs

Debs was diagnosed with a rare form of pelvic cancer in 2019 and went through many hurdles throughout her illness. Last year, as her pain became greater and she needed more support, she reached out to Dorothy House, where she was put in touch with Becky from our Hospice at Home team. Alongside helping Debs to find ways to manage her pain and feel more comfortable, Becky was also offered someone for her to talk to outside the family, where she could express her feelings and worries about her illness.

“Becky from the Hospice at Home team was so special to my mum and helped her immensely throughout her journey.” – Anthea

A special hospice wedding

In January of this year, Debs’ illness progressed further, and she was admitted to our Inpatient Unit at Winsley House. At the same time, Anthea was just weeks away from her wedding.

It was our Spiritual Lead, Dave, who organised a blessing at the Hospice for Anthea and her now husband, so that Debs was able to share their special day with them.

“Dave organised a beautiful blessing for myself and my husband, so we could have our special ceremony with my wonderful mum. I could not be more grateful for that experience and the love we felt from the whole team that day.”

Anthea and her husband married on 17 February 2024, with Anthea paying her mum a special visit that morning, wearing her wedding dress. Debs died later that day, shortly after their ceremony.

“Our beautiful mum passed away in the care of the fantastic Dorothy House staff. She always said that it is exactly where she wanted to be for when that moment came, and it gave the family great comfort that she was looked after so well by such an amazing team.”

Fundraising in memory

Following her mum’s death, Anthea and the rest of the family raised an incredible £2,100 in Debs’ memory. This June, she’s taking part in the Midnight Walk as a way of saying thank you for the care we gave to Debs and her family.

“As a family, we can never thank the team enough for how much they cared for our mum and us, the support they gave us all, and for making her so comfortable in the last few weeks of life. We will always do everything we can to support and raise money for the Hospice team, and that starts with the Midnight Walk! We can’t wait to get stuck in and raise some money for an incredible cause.”

A big thank you to Anthea for sharing her story and her wonderful photos, with us.

Get involved in the Midnight Walk

If you’ve been inspired by Anthea’s story, there’s still time to get involved in this year’s event. Every single penny you raise will help to fund outstanding palliative and end of life care across our community, and will ensure we can continue to be there for people like Debs and Anthea.

This year, we’ve chosen to start the Midnight Walk at 10pm as it’s the same time our Hospice at Home team start their shift. As our carers work through the night to support patients in their homes, our walkers will be putting in a shift of their own to raise funds supporting this vital service.

Every £50 raised from the Midnight Walk could fund two hours of overnight care in a patient’s home provided by a skilled, compassionate Hospice at Home carer, allowing family members to get a good night’s sleep knowing their loved one is in safe hands.

Last year over 300 participants took to the streets of Bath to raise funds for Dorothy House Hospice Care, with the final total reaching over £40,000. We’re excited to see what this year brings, and we can’t wait to welcome our supporters to the Pavilion for Bath’s biggest pyjama party. If you’d like a sneak peek of what to expect, head over to our Instagram and check our highlight Reel from last year!

Whether you take on the walk solo, or sign up as part of a team, we’d love for you to join us on what’s set to be a very special evening.

Can’t make this year’s Midnight Walk? Download our 2024 Fundraising Calendar and discover what else we’ve got planned for this year!