On Weds 21st December the office received a call asking if we had a Caregiver available to fly to Edinburgh and back on Friday 23rd December! The assignment was to escort a lady who was in Southampton General Hospital terminally ill and her final wish was to spend her last Christmas in Edinburgh surrounded by her family.
An excerpt from Sarah’s account of the day:
“We made it to the departure area in good time after leaving Southampton General Hospital. It was rather chilly in departures so I gave Mary the spare gloves and scarf I had. This turned out to be needed all the more as the walk from the boarding area to the plane was a VERY wet and windy one which made both our hair horizontally fashioned! We settled in our seats and upon request I gave Mary’s hair a comb so she felt presentable for her arrival. Before takeoff I broke out the boiled sweets I had packed that morning to help with popping ears.
We took off – Mary a seasoned flyer, taking it in her stride, cool and calm. I on the other hand, wet behind the ears when it comes to flying, was straining to look out of every window I possibly could with a big grin on my face. As we broke through the clouds I couldn’t help drawing Mary’s attention to the stunning view and gently touched her shoulder and pointed out of the window and was rewarded with a smile.
We then began our descent and the lights of Edinburgh came into view and once again Mary’s face lit up. I got our luggage together while she was assisted off the plane via the lift. When walked into Arrivals I was thrilled to see Mary’s family.
I greeted Mary’s nephew and his wife and introduced myself. I then had a photo taken with Mary to remember the day and I was presented with a lovely box of Scottish tablet and a thank you card! Needless to say I was very touched. I said my goodbyes after seeing that Mary was loaded onto the ambulance safely and headed back into the airport, ready for my flight home.”
