Hospice cuddle beds arrive in memory of Dominic

Four special ‘Cuddle beds’, costing around £60,000, have arrived at St Leonard’s Hospice in York this week, thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of York woman Louise Ryan, her sister-in-law Michelle Smith and their family and friends, known as Team Dragonflies.

They have been fundraising to buy the beds in memory of Louise’s late husband, Dominic (Nick) Ryan, who died in the Hospice in October 2023. They have raised almost £60,000 by doing all sorts of things – head shaves, a Dragon Boat Race, runs, Hadrian’s Wall, three peaks, 100,000 steps in 24 hours, beard shaves, sales of handmade items, “people have been so generous”.

When Dominic was diagnosed with a brain tumour, aged 45, and his family spent time at his bed side in the Hospice, they came up with the idea of fundraising for a ‘cuddle bed’ so that families could be closer to their loved ones. Their fundraising efforts have meant they have raised enough money for four beds.

“I didn’t even know they existed,” said Louise. “When we were sat next to him, we wanted to hold his hand, lean in and be close to each other like we were at home. But this wasn’t easy so that’s how we started talking with the staff about this special type of hospital bed that is available, called a cuddle bed.

“Just being able to lay next to each other, or sit and watch telly together, that would have meant a lot. I stayed with Nick for 24 hours a day some days and that would have made a difference, for us and for our children, that’s why we wanted to do it.

“It’s emotional seeing the beds here today, to know how they would have helped me and my family, and to know how beneficial it will be to people in the future. Doing this has brought positivity to a really sad situation for us, it gave us something to focus on, and to see all that hard work with the beds now in situ is amazing. I can see how we could have used the cuddle bed, it’s overwhelming and I’m so proud of what has been achieved. I can picture people using the bed, and feel how it will help people in a bad situation.”

The special new cuddle beds look like a single bed and have all the functions of a hospital bed, but at the touch of a button, turn into double beds, allowing families to make the most of time together.  The ability for families to get into the same bed as their loved one, as they usually would, and have a cuddle or offer comfort at the most tender of times, is extremely beneficial.

St Leonard’s have been trialling one of the cuddle beds for the last few weeks before receiving the further three, from supplier Montcalm.

The trial bed has been used in the Hospice by patient Darren Powell. It’s been hugely beneficial for Darren, his partner Nikki Smith and their family who live near Selby. When Mr Powell had become paralysed from the waist down in May all the couple had wanted to do was to continue to share a bed and “cuddle up” but had been unable to so with Darren sleeping in a nursing bed downstairs at home.

Darren said that if he hadn’t been able to come into the Hospice with the cuddle bed in his room “we’d have just been at home, Nikki being upstairs and me downstairs.”

Ms Smith said: “It takes away a lot of your life, illness, a lot of your togetherness. So, it’s something we never dreamed possible. This extending out into a double has allowed us to have date nights, movie nights, share takeaways and actually cuddle up together.”

The couple said the bed had also meant that they were able to “cuddle up with grandchildren when they had visited the Hospice and even the family dog.”

Ruth Hall, Deputy Director of Clinical Services at St Leonard’s Hospice, said: “The cuddle beds bring a really important part of home life into the hospice, so having these four beds will be an incredible benefit for both patients and their families.

“As a charity, we provide all our care and support free of charge, but we only receive a quarter of our running costs from the NHS. These wonderful cuddle beds have only been made possible thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Ryan family and their friends, and we can’t thank them enough.”

Anyone who wants to donate to fundraise for more ‘cuddle beds’ can do so on: dominicryan.muchloved.com