St Ann’s supporter speaks about care his wife received from the hospice

Dushyant Mehta’s, wife Asha died at St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green in 2021. The two had been longtime supporters and volunteers for St Ann’s long before Asha initially sought treatment at the hospice.  

Dushyant and Asha are Jains, an Indian religion teaching a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined nonviolence (ahimsa, literally “non-injury”) to all living creatures. Through their religious community, Dushyant and Asha raised £15,000, half going to St Ann’s and the other going to the National Kidney Foundation. It was their first fundraiser for St Ann’s Hospice. 

Later, in 2011, Asha was diagnosed with breast cancer following a check-up when she was 50. She had nodules removed which led to water retention in her arms, causing discomfort.  

She was cured of the cancer but the water retention remained, and she struggled to even lift her arms. She could not do the one thing that she loved most, which was cooking. 

A GP on request and suggestion informed her that St Ann’s Hospice may be able to manage her symptoms. They later had an appointment with the physiotherapist team at the hospice.  

“Within two appointments, she was in a position to raise her hands and continue doing what she loved; cooking,” Dushyant said.  

“After that we became more involved with St Ann’s Hospice. Asha wanted to give back something more to the hospice, so she used her cooking skills and created a cookbook, and all proceeds went to St Ann’s Hospice.  

“We got the books printed and it has raised approximately £5,000 to £6,000,” Dushyant added.  

In 2018, Asha was diagnosed with another form of cancer called angiosarcoma, a cancer of the blood.  

Her cancer advanced and she became more ill, and it was Asha’s wish to remain at home and not in a clinical setting.  

“Whenever we dealt with St Ann’s Hospice, the one thing I always felt was that they took away all the tension and stress from us. You get to spend as much time with your loved one as possible,” Dushyant said  

It came to a stage where Asha’s illness progressed. Dushyant spoke with his family and to Asha and it was decided that she needed to go into St Ann’s Hospice as an inpatient for end-of-life care. 

“We’ve been to many hospitals, and they all do a fantastic job but I’ve never seen anything like St Ann’s. The quality of care and services that is provided there is unimaginable,” Dushyant said.  

“They asked Asha what her wishes were and she wanted to see my youngest son get married, and she wanted to see the birth of her granddaughter who was on the way.  

“They took those goals to heart. We didn’t have to worry about anything. They told us to spend time with her, St Ann’s did all the work,” he added.  

Dushyant says that a memory that stands out the most from their time at St Ann’s Hospice was the time his family took a group picture in the gardens of Heald Green.  

“For two days before the event, the nurses were figuring out what Asha was going to wear and how to get her dressed for the photo. They wheeled her bed into the gardens and we were able to take a photo together,” he said.  

“When my son got married it became clear that Asha wouldn’t be able to travel to the ceremony, so instead St Ann’s set up a live video link. Her whole bed was taken into one of the rooms with a big TV to watch our son get married live.  

“We were treated like family. These things are only possible because of places like St Ann’s. I cannot express in words how grateful we all are to St Ann’s. Asha died in 2021 and even to this day, every time I go into St Ann’s the staff ask how I am, how my family are, and if we require any support, I will never forget that,” Dushyant added.