Liverpool Care Pathway - End Of Year Life Café...

"And here is truth: How may you tell when will be the moment of death? God alone knows!"





Here is Life Café...

This is The Mirror –

Francesca and Lee Moore-Williams, 41 and 44, cried as they held Bella’s hand and took one final photograph before her ventilator was switched off.

The couple even signed a Do Not Resuscitate form meaning no special measures would be taken to keep her alive.

But just 30 minutes after their heartbreaking goodbye the 18-month-old tot, who doctors had given up for dead, began kicking and screaming.

Bella has continued to recover and five months on she is well enough to celebrate Christmas with her family at home.

Dad-of-two Lee said: “I was holding her hand knowing there was going to be a little last breath.

“I could feel her hand dropping and it went down but then she started gripping my finger.

“She started moving on her own and then her machine started going off.

“The doctors then changed everything to try and keep her alive.”

Francesca added: “It’s just amazing. It’s like we have won the lottery.

“She made our family complete and it’s great to see how well she is doing.

“When she says ‘mama’ it melts my heart.”

On July 21 Francesca and Lee said an emotional final goodbye to their daughter after taking prints of her hands and feet as a memento.

They also took a final picture together with their son Bobby, five, before the ventilator was switched off. 

Francesca explained: “The whole family came in one by one to say their goodbyes.

“I just kept sitting there thinking ‘why us’. It was heart wrenching.

“I will never, ever forget that moment where I had to say goodbye to my daughter.”

More reflective Life Café from Belfast Live –

They say the best gifts come in small packages.

So, when tiny baby Lewis Hall finally got home after almost two months in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, it was the best Christmas present his parents could have wished for.

The premature tot was born in August - 11 weeks early - weighing less than a bag of sugar.

Every day in Northern Ireland seven babies are born too soon.

Some arrive as early as 24 weeks and weighing as little as one pound.

The charity TinyLife has volunteers in the region's seven neonatal units to offer practical and emotional support to the parents of premature and sick babies through the family and support service.

TinyLife's hospital to home volunteer visitation service provides breast pumps, tiny gyms, baby massage and sensory sessions as well as family activities and support groups.

Mrs Hall added: "TinyLife were amazing. They were the people who were there from Lewis was a day old.

"I don't know what I would have done without them."

She has also paid tribute to the medical staff at the RVH.

Anyone wishing to donate to TinyLife can log on to justgiving.co.uk/TinyLife

Whatever ‘signs’ are looked for to determine outcomes, all are ultimately fallible. How may signs, whether GSF or SPICT be used to pintsize care expectations and to see the glass half-full?

"If I should ever seek death - there are several times when my progressive condition challenges me - I want to guarantee that you are there supporting my continued life and its value. The last thing I want is for you to give up on me, especially when I need you most."
- Lady Jane Campbell

Life is precious. Living matters.

This has been Life Café.

May the New Year bring us Hope and Hope keep our Faith resolute and strong.