My name is Donald McLennan, born in Omagh, now living in Derry. My wife and I are married 63 years. We have one boy and two girls, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. The music scene is how I made my living. I was a singer in various bands and ended up in Canada, America, and Australia. I’m not one to brag but I love telling people that I’m the first and only Irishman to date who has recorded an album of his own songs in Nashville, Tennessee with the A-Team. The album was called Sullivan Dreams. Since I’m 83 years of age, it would take some time to go through it all.
I had cancer of the oesophagus, and I had to go to the hospital. The nurses in the hospital in Belfast asked if I wanted to go to the hospice. I said no because I feared it as my brother had died in a hospice. I spoke with a few friends that had experienced the hospice, and they told me how good it is. I found that to be the case.
One of the day services that we provide is day therapy, and it runs three days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It is open to any patient who has a palliative diagnosis where their condition is incurable. They’re invited down to look around first, if they wish to do so. They are then given a day that they can attend. If they have difficulties with travel and live locally, we have a bus that can collect them. Staff here will give them a coffee and a scone and every day there are volunteers who come to help. One day we have a gentleman who comes and does a quiz, another day we have a lady who does arts and crafts, and we have a gentleman who does bingo. Each day is different.
A gentlemen called Allen comes in and volunteers, sets up a quiz and we all try to score the answers and see who is the smartest, but it’s usually accompanied by plenty of joking and craic.
Palliative and hospice care is about trying to help someone live their life the best they can with whatever condition they have. Each person brings their own qualities to the hospice and adds to the day therapy. Don, as part of our group, is very eloquent. He’s a man who has lived a vast and varied life.
I found it a little bit difficult at first to mix, because there were some people I didn’t know, but we became great friends, and we have the banter, as they say. We make fun of ourselves, and it shortens the day.
Everybody gets to know one another very well. Don is also very musical. There are days that you will hear him singing and he’s very good at it.
Coming to the hospice helped greatly because you meet other people with similar problems and experiences. The nurses and staff here are fantastic so it’s a really great place to come.
