Marie Curie Nurse 'always wanted to care for people'

 

Judith Parsell has been caring for people across Carmarthenshire for nearly three decades – and says she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

The Marie Curie Senior Healthcare Assistant, who has worked for the charity for a quarter of a century, said she first applied for the position after she had cared for her own father at home for the two years previous.

Marie Curie provides expert care and support to people living with a terminal illness and their families, and Judith said she wanted others to help other people have support during a difficult time. 

“Some things have changed over the 25 years, but all for the better” she said.

“It looked like a nice job, but in the two years previous to me starting, I nursed my father at home myself, because the care wasn’t available then.

“When you realise what you were doing at that time, it’s quite nice now to go into some homes and tell people I understand what they are going through.

“It was nights only, which suited me because I had three small children and worked on a surgical unit, so I had nursed a lot of end of life care patients. 

“When I first had the job, you worked when they needed you, we were not permanent staff. We would go out with a community nurse, out and about shadowing for two days.”

Judith, who is a Senior Healthcare Assistant, still works shifts in her nearby hospital – working on the maternity ward one day a week.

“I did 20 odd years in a hospital, and it’s hard to give up a hospital team,” she said.

“I didn’t want to do anything surgical or anything like that, so I started doing little shifts on maternity, because I wasn’t with Marie Curie full time.  I never thought I’d like maternity, but it’s funny, it’s nice to nurse well people.    It gives you a little lift sometimes. It’s nice to bath a little baby.

“I’ve been in nursing for coming up to 30 years now, it’s what I always wanted to do, I love it.”

Judith recently received a thank you letter from the daughter of a patient she cared for, who died a few months ago.  She had been caring for her since April 2016.

“I went in at nights and they were having and respite in the day to give the daughter a break.  The whole team was going in, she was a lovely lady.

 

“Everyone knew her, she had been in many wards through the hospital, a lot of surgical operations.

 

“She then moved to her daughter’s house for the last two weeks of her life.   You can imagine the wear on her (the daughter).  I mean we were going in from April, but most probably even before that she was most probably staying with her mum.  So that was the last days of her life.

“I was off then on the Sunday and Zoe, our Nursing Service Facilitator, phoned me and said there were so many ill patients this particular weekend, and could I work the Sunday.  And I always would when I could, but when I knew who it was I would be caring for, I said yes. 

“I was working my shifts on Monday and Tuesday anyway.  So I worked the Monday, and on the Tuesday there was me and another Marie Curie Nurse.

“I didn’t think I would see the daughter again after the Sunday.  But the third night that week, back in I went, the patient was very poorly.  I could see her just doing a massive breath and I thought “oh”.  I was a bit cautious because I had called the daughter on the first night, but then she did just slip away.

“They were a lovely family.  She was a nurse as well and they were very, very grateful for Marie Curie care.”

If you have questions about terminal illness, need support or just want to talk, call the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309. It’s for anyone affected by terminal illness, including family and friends.