TOUCH AND GOA! Shirley’s Christmas Journey

December 27, 2024

Shirley's repatriation journey

We have learnt at the hospice that travelling ‘home’ when you are very ill often means going back to the country where you were born. This can be a really difficult practical task but so important.

Shirley is just 36, with a husband and two delightful sons. She tragically has advanced cancer and was desperate to go back to Goa, India where most of her family still live, to face the final chapter of her life.

Repatriation is complicated. Funds have to be raised, the logistics are really complex, airlines have to be battled with, the patient has to be kept stable until the day of the travel and, of course, we have to organise safe and expert care at the other end.

We have now done this several times at Michael Sobell House since we reopened in 2020. Some adventurous journeys to Kerala, to Mecca, to Romania and to Euro Disney!

So the money to support Shirley’s trip was raised through an extraordinary Go Fund Me effort, supported by the Goan Welfare Society. Over 400 generous donations raised £16,800 in just a few days! Thank you! Every penny of this has been used to support the expensive Christmas flights for the family, the cost of flight nurse Ani and a private ambulance to Gatwick via Steve at Aero Medical.

There were endless calls with Air India, but we managed to book tickets for Boxing Day. Shirley is on a complex medication regime to help her pain and it was important to be comfortable on the 9-hour flight, so business class tickets had to be booked so that she could lie back and sleep. There were risks of complications but luckily there was no drama and the plane landed safely in Goa. We have been in touch with the Dilasa Palliative Care Centre in Goa, who have been amazing in their response to support Shirley. Dilasa means comfort and consolation. They sent their own ambulance with a palliative nurse to meet Shirley off the plane and transferred her to their Unit. We are now in close touch with the medical team at the Centre to agree the next phase of care and are hoping for a partnership with them, and maybe even an exchange visit to Goa! Shirley has a deep faith and her one wish was to see her sisters and family whom she has not seen for over 2 years. We are now hoping for peace and comfort in the coming days.

Research shows that one of the main barriers to repatriation is not the patients, but the anxiety of the doctors and nurses! We have learnt at Michael Sobell that repatriation takes a little courage, some detailed planning and a lot of money – but makes a huge difference to those who wish to be back where they feel they belong!