From the moment they arrived, things began to change. After Ellie’s assessment, Gary remembers the reassurance that stayed with him.
“After the assessment, the doctor turned to me and said, Gary, we can help your wife. I felt so relived.”
Ellie stayed at Keech for just over two weeks. In that time, her symptoms were brought under control, allowing them to spend meaningful time together.
When they left, they walked out hand in hand. Ellie was comfortable and ready to make the most of the time she had left.
“She had no pain. No nausea. The doctor did exactly what she said she would do,” Gary remembers.
Looking back, Gary reflects on that time with deep gratitude.
“Keech bestowed upon us a very precious gift… the gift of time.”
A place of comfort
Before coming to Keech, Gary didn’t know what to expect. What he and Ellie experienced was very different to what many people might imagine.
“It’s not a place of doom and gloom,” he says. “It’s a place of hope, joy, love, laughter, kindness and dignity. I could go on and on.”
Ellie quickly made Keech her own. She continued to get up, get dressed and spend time with her family, making the most of each day.
One of the places she felt happiest was in the gardens.
“She loved her garden at home, and she loved the garden here,” Gary says. “It gave her peace.”
Even as the seasons changed, the gardens offered them both somewhere to step outside, take a breath and spend quiet time together.
Ellie’s pathway
Spending time in the Keech garden inspired Ellie to give something back. Even while receiving care, she was thinking about how she could help others in the future.
“She just wanted to help Keech in any way she could,” Gary says.
“She loved her garden,” Gary says. “We’d have four or six hanging baskets every year. She loved her fuchsias, with the colours hanging down, purples, deep reds, even yellow. They just brightened everything.”
During one of their walks, Ellie noticed how difficult it could be for patients with limited mobility to reach the Scent-sory Garden, a peaceful woodland space designed to engage the senses and provide comfort through nature, fragrance and reflection.
From that moment, she knew she wanted to make a difference.
“She said, that’s what I want to do. I want to gift a pathway so everyone can get there.”
Through Ellie’s generosity, that idea became a reality…
Today, Ellie’s pathway connects the Walk of Life to the Scent-sory Garden, creating an accessible route for patients and families.
Shortly before Ellie died, she received confirmation that the project would go ahead.
“She read the letter and was so pleased. She knew it was going to happen. That meant so much to her.”
After Ellie
Ellie died peacefully at home, surrounded by her family.
“She went exactly how she would have wanted. I can never repay Keech for that,” Gary says.
Gary’s journey with Keech did not end there. In the months following Ellie’s death, he has continued to receive support through bereavement services, music therapy, hydrotherapy, and regular visits.
Over time, that support has helped Gary begin to rebuild, finding comfort in connection and community.
“One of the best forms of therapy is giving back.”
A lasting connection
Gary now visits Keech regularly, returning every Wednesday and Friday. The hospice has become a place of familiarity and comfort, somewhere he can still feel connected to Ellie.
“I just enjoy walking along that path,” he says. “To me, it’s a joy just coming through the front doors of the hospice.”
Each time he visits, Gary walks along Ellie’s pathway and up towards the Scent-sory Garden.
“I sit down on one of the benches and I talk to Ellie. It’s so peaceful and tranquil,” he says. “I’ve met other people doing the same thing, just sitting and remembering.”
For Gary, that is where Ellie’s legacy lives on, in the quiet moments shared by others, in the space she helped create, and in the comfort, it continues to bring.
“It means more to me than you will ever realise.”