Derian House Children's Hospice celebrates 30th birthday

A Children's Hospice in Chorley is celebrating 30 years of helping children and young people with life-limiting conditions.

Derian House Children's Hospice first opened in 1993, and has offered end-of-life care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ever since.

Its Chief Executive, Karen Edwards, said: "Thank you to everybody that has supported us, whether it's recently or historical.

"Without them, we don't have a hospice for Lancashire and Greater Manchester."

To celebrate the occasion, the hospice is asking people to buy a 'virtual slice of cake' for £3, which will go towards funding the hospice.

Karen Edwards said: "A little boy came in not long ago and gave us 37p out of his pocket money, and that absolutely blew us away."

Derian House has also reached out to current and former families of patients to tell 30 stories over 30 years.

One of the people they reached out to was Kiki Deville. Her son, Dexter, was born with a genetic condition called Zellweger Syndrome.

She said: "He died when he was four weeks and three days old. When you are given that diagnosis that your child is going to die, everything changes for you.

"Having people who pick up the pieces, who cook food for you, who make sure your laundry gets done. Who just help you with the practicalities of what really is the darkest time of your life."

Paul Woodward's son, Kalel, also spent time at Derian House. When he died, he was kept in one of their 'sunflower rooms.' These temperature-controlled rooms are specifically designed for keeping a child in after they have passed away, where the parents can spend time with them before the funeral.

Paul said: "We were able to come and just say goodbye and hold his hand. They would call every day and toasted, read a story, His favorite books.

"They'd been in to sing to him. And at that level of care, you know, these guys are just incredible people. They really are."

It costs £6 million to keep the hospice running every year. 70% of this funding comes from public donations. Staff are hoping people will keep donating, to ensure Derian House can keep providing support for children and their families for another 30 years.