In November 2023, Cathy and Joe said 'I do' in a special ceremony at Mountbatten's hospice in West End. 

The couple have been together 35 years and planned to get married on 1 December, but plans changed when Joe was brought to our inpatient unit on Monday for end-of-life care.

Cathy said: “The registry office said they couldn’t come out to marry us, and at that point I didn’t think we would manage it. But Mountbatten helped us sort it out in about two hours. 

“The nurses and carers curled my hair, painted my nails, offered me a drink and made me feel like a bride. They got cakes, strawberries and prosecco for after the ceremony."

“We thought Joe might be asleep the whole time, but he woke up to say his vows. It meant so much that I got to hear those words coming from him.”

“What Mountbatten did was amazing, because it didn’t feel like a hospital, it felt like a hotel. It was better than it could have been in the registry office."

"We could have all our friends and family there. Even my mum who died in January – she told me when I needed her, she would be there as a robin. There the robin was, at the window, the whole time."

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Gifts in Wills enable us to care for more people facing death, dying and bereavement in Southampton and large parts of Hampshire.

As an independent charity, we must find around £10.5 million each year to fund our services.

Your support helps our teams care for over 1,500 people every day, through care at home, rehabilitation, bereavement support, and our hospice and day services centre. 

Will you help us create special moments, like Cathy and Joe's wedding, when it matters most?

Leave a gift in your will.