Get Darren Home

My name is Hannah Murray and this post is being written on behalf of my husband Darren and his children Hannah and Owen.

He has terminal cancer and was given six months to live in October 2023. He has been in the Nightingale Macmillan Ward at Derby Hospital for the past five months.

In April he had a pleomorphic liposarcoma tumour removed from his shoulder which left him with twenty percent movement in his right arm. The cancer then moved through his body....his left lung, stomach and chest wall, both hips, pelvis and right femur.

In October he fell ill and was in a great amount of pain and had to be rushed to hospital where they discovered a tumour in his spine, which led to an additional diagnosis of bone cancer. This tumour fractured his vertebrae trapping a nerve. He had a metal support put into his spine but unfortunately the cancer had already done the damage and paralysed him from the chest down.

After the spinal operation we hoped he would be able to come home but he then became doubly incontinent as the paralysis affected his bladder and bowels. He now has a permanent catheter and last week underwent a stoma operation.

Throughout all of this he has amazed me with his resilience and attitude to the situation and personal changes in his life.

He is aware he is living on limited time and this is affecting his mental wellbeing. His wish is simple.....to come home to have friends and family around him, be with our dogs, make me a cup of coffee and go out for a carvery. None of this is possible without an electric wheelchair.

We desperately want him home for however long he has left but getting a specialised wheelchair for his additional needs will take 6-8 weeks through the hospital.

Every member of staff on this ward are wonderful human beings. They face a demanding and emotional job day in day out. They go above and beyond for Darren with their humour and care.

When Darren passes away the wheelchair will be donated back to the Macmillan ward so someone else can have use of it, and any additional funds raised beyond the wheelchair will go straight to this unit.

Thank you for reading.

Hannah Murray.