Sky Dixon

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The Myton Hospices provides compassionate care and support for people with life-limiting illnesses and their families - both in their Inpatient Units and out in the community.

Those of you who know me know that I have a long-term disability that causes a lot of pain and difficulty with my day-to-day life. I am very fortunate that my condition is not life-limiting and thus I cannot pretend to understand what those with terminal illnesses are going through, but I think it is fair to say I feel something of the pain of all those who have had to accept that they have had every medical treatment available and are still no closer to getting better. I remember turning to doctors for answers and coming away with more questions, feeling more alone than ever. I remember back in 2023, after years of seizures and declining mobility, when I realised that if I waited for doctors to fix my issues and let me be "normal" again, I'd forever be waiting. I remember the grief I felt (and still feel) that I had to let go of the person I was before and instead shift my focus to looking after my holistic wellbeing and making the most of the abilities I still have. And as someone who values plans and routines and struggles a lot to cope with change, I cannot tell you how difficult it was to let go of the activities I loved, to be forced to U-turn on my education and career plans, and eventually to need a wheelchair most of the time and care support.

Don't get me wrong, I have many blessings in life and I am able to make the most of it, but the reason I talk about this is that my experiences have revealed to me and the people around me how severely lacking the government services for long-term sick and disabled people are. For this reason, this cause is very close to my heart.

The experience of those like myself and those who Myton Hospices supports are in many ways vastly different, but we both share the same painful dilemma: what do you do when the doctors have done all they can?

For individuals it will vary, but for both of us, the answer is compassionate care, pain relief, physiotherapy to try to retain function and help pain that medicines can't, psychological therapies to accept the condition and reduce stress,  specialist mobility aids and medical equipment for at home, home and vehicle adaptations, home help and personal care assistance… but as anyone who has ever been in need of these services will tell you, these aren't cheap. And more often than not, patients (who are often already in financial turmoil from their illness) are somehow expected to fund this themself (shakes head in disbelief)! 

When this isn't possible, which it rarely is, it is charities like Myton Hospices that pick up the shortfall for those with life-limiting illnesses. With Myton Hospices being the only charity providing services such as inpatient hospice care in the whole of Coventry and Warwickshire, it is no wonder that this is expected to cost them as much as £15.3 million this year. 

As for myself, I have a good few decades left, God-willing. As painful as it can be sometimes, I am blessed that I can afford to wait for change. I can hold out for hope of a cure in the future, or at least that technology improves so that I can have the tools I need to do more of the things I want and need to do. I can hope that the ground-breaking therapies only available for those with hundreds of thousands to spend on private medical care eventually trickle down to the masses. I can pray that the limited treatments that I am receiving can work better than expected and I can go into remission. I can also hope that I make a partial recovery naturally, as some with my condition have experienced. Even if these things take 30 years to happen, I probably will hopefully still be here on this Earth, in a reasonable state of health, able to benefit from it. Even if things don't improve medically, I can hope and pray that society changes: that people become more compassionate; that the NHS and social services can be reformed. 

I have time to wait for change.  Many people in need of support from Myton don't have that blessing and too many people will die whilst waiting for the help they need. That is why Myton Hospices needs our urgent support. 

For these reasons I will be doing the Myton Hospices Moonlight Walk 10k in my wheelchair, to help those less fortunate than me, and to make the first and most urgent step towards a world where all people with long-term and incurable illnesses can experience a high quality of life. Please donate as much as you can, and if you are local to the West Midlands, consider joining me on the Moonlight Walk on Friday 17th April.

Here is some extra information about Myton Hospices on why they need your support this year.

To continue offering this care free of charge, they need to raise £12.7 million of the £15.3 million it will cost this year.

They are not the NHS - they are a charity, and just 17% of their funding comes from the NHS.

More people than ever need a Hospice Bed, and tragically, too many people on the waiting list for a bed at Myton will die before they can access one.

As the only provider of Hospice Inpatient Beds in Coventry and Warwickshire, the demand is huge.

To reach this year’s Moonlight Walk target of £250,000, they rely entirely on sponsorship, and that’s where you come in. Just look at what your support could help fund:

Please donate today and help The Myton Hospices be there for those who need them most.