A friend of mine was dying of cancer. His name was Terry. It’s quite a few years ago now, but I still remember it really well. Not long before he died, I was invited to his party. It was called “TERRY’S GOING TO DIE PARTY”.
I had never been to a GOING TO DIE PARTY before. I don’t think anyone has! When Terry was in hospital, they told him that sadly he was going to die. He said he wanted a party with his friends, and with fish and chips.
Here is a video where Louise and I tell the story about the party. Louise was Terry’s support worker.
It was a happy occasion, because it was what Terry really wanted. We had fish and chips. We just sat around talking, telling stories about Terry and singing songs that he liked. We stayed for a few hours.
I think Terry got the best possible care at the end of his life. He had a good support team around him. They listened to what he wanted. I think they also listened to his family. There was open house, we could all just walk in and spend some time with Terry. The staff made it really welcoming and informal. I really liked that.
In the DAPPLE project, I hope that we will find more things that are going well for people, like it did for Terry. It was sad that he died but it was good that he could go home and be with his friends.
But we will also find things that need to be improved. Perhaps we find that some people don’t get told what is happening with them. I think people do have a right to know what’s going on, so they can make choices. Just like Terry had the choice to have an I’M GOING TO DIE PARTY. I want everyone to be able to make decisions like that, and to be listened to.
Written by Richard Keagan-Bull (Research Assistant, Kingston University)
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