Family fundraising for Weldmar

Her impressive efforts through ‘Team Summers’ are in honour of her sister Shirley Gomm and sister-in-law Teresa Summers, who both died of cancer within two weeks of each other in 2007.

The blow brought the close-knit Weymouth family even closer together.

It also made them determined to ‘repay’ Weldmar Hospicecare Trust’s kindness and support that came at a crucial time.

What started with a 2008 London Marathon fundraiser snowballed into a second marathon challenge, hundreds of fundraising letters, cake stalls, auctions, raffles and party nights.

Former hospital receptionist Rita has worked tirelessly alongside her brother John – Teresa’s husband – and nephews Matthew, Jonathon and Adam and their partners to boost the charity’s coffers.

Last year, the family raised £9,500 and this year their efforts will top £6,000.

Rita, of Chickerell, near Weymouth, said: “It was hard to come to terms with losing them both within two weeks of one another.

“Teresa and John had a very special relationship, she was the family rock and it was just awful to see them lose that.

“John had always wanted to run the marathon and kept applying and getting rejected.

“Teresa once said to him ‘If I could make it happen for you I would’ and in a way she did.

“He ran for the Weldmar charity, with his boys, in her memory.

“It meant so much to us all and really brought us closer.”

Teresa’s illness started in October 2006, shortly before her grandson Harry was born, and ‘was very quick.’ Rita said: “My sister Shirley was diagnosed with the same cancer before Teresa but they came to the same stage at the same time, it was just awful.”

Both women were cared for at home by their families and Weldmar’s community specialist nurses.

Shirley then became an inpatient at the Joseph Weld Hospice.

Teresa, 58, died in January 2007 and Shirley, 71, died shortly after.

Rita said the family was hit by cancer some 34 years earlier when it struck her father Cyril Summers.

Her memories of him being cared for in the family lounge with morphine administered by the family doctor, highlight the true value of Weldmar’s support.

She said: “You don’t realise how it’s come on and what a difference Weldmar has made, they really are marvellous.

“In those days you nursed them yourself in a sense.

“Teresa didn’t go into the hospice; she was treated at home by the Weldmar community nurses which suited Teresa as she valued her privacy and loved her home.

“My sister was in the hospice and thought it was a private hospital. She said to her daughters ‘You can’t keep me here too long because you won’t be able to afford it.’ ”

This free top-quality care inspired the Summers family to support the service.

Rita added: “It’s been hard work I must admit, we’ve put a lot of hours into it.

“The marathons were the biggest pressure because three entries need to raise £1,200 each so that’s a £3,600 target straight away.

“It’s amazing what we’ve done and I’m amazed at how kind people are and what they give.”

Caroline Nickinson, director of fundraising for Weldmar, said: “The support we receive from families whose loved ones have been cared for by Weldmar Hospicecare Trust is so very special to us.

“We get to know them through supporting their fundraising events and it is truly amazing the amount of time and effort they put in to supporting our work.

“The Summers family have worked tirelessly for us, including running for two years in the London Marathon and organising a series of fundraising events.

“We are so very grateful to them – without their support and that of others like them we just would not be able to care for all those in our community who need the special services that we offer.”

Show them you care

THE Show Them You Care campaign has raised £4,213.20 since the appeal was launched on February 28 but there is a long way to go to hit the £60,000 target needed to pay for a community nurse for a year.

All the money will be used to fund a nurse for a year and pay for all of their support and expenses.

Crucially, it would mean even more patients and their families receiving all the support they need, when they need it most.

Donate by visiting webpage www.justgiving.com/weldmarnurse Send cheques payable to ‘The Weldmar Hospicecare Trust’ to the Dorset Echo offices at Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XD.