Vivienne’s husband Trev died in the care of St Ann’s in December and she is now donating his impressive Lego collection to the hospice as her way of giving back.
Trev’s extensive collection consists of dozens of models built over many years, including one of Old Trafford, the Titanic, and many more.
According to Vivienne, Trev fell back in love with Lego building when he was recovering from his initial bout with cancer of the head and neck which was caught early. He used to build Lego sets as a child.
“Up until then he would distract himself by completing jigsaws – it seemed almost pointless to spend hours on something to break it up and put it back in the box,” Vivienne said.
He enjoyed the challenge of assembling and could do an hour or so at a time. Each model came with its own set of detailed assembly instructions, on occasion construction would be halted, an email sent to Lego HQ for a specific missing piece that would arrive in the smallest of envelopes
Vivienne, St Ann’s Hospice Supporter
Click the Gallery above to view videos of Trevor’s Lego room.
Trev’s cancer returned in his lung in October 2020 and he completed a month of radiotherapy in December 2020. It was during this treatment that the Millennium Falcon model was completed.
He recovered again and life went on and according to Vivienne there was a lull in model construction from March 2021 until April 2023.
“By this time most rooms in the house had a Lego model in them. Everything from a Concorde on the coffee table, the Batcave in the office and an Aston Martin DB5 on top of the freezer,” Vivienne said.
In April 2023 Trev’s cancer had returned once again.
“While he was waiting to see if he was eligible for a clinical trial at the Christie, we made the decision to convert a garage into a Lego room.,” Vivienne said.
“During the clinical trial treatment, the Lego room took shape, trips to Ikea for robust shelving, despite protests from me. Trev painted the walls but did allow builders to lay the flooring.
“Boxes that contained the larger Lego models were covered with material and used as display stands,” she added.
In December 2023 Trev was taken off the trial as one of his tumours had grown outside the margins that the trial would allow so he was placed onto the conventional chemo infusions in January 2024.
“The Lego room still grew with some smaller easier models, a telephone box, a lighthouse, and more,” Vivienne said.
“In July 2024 we visited a Lego fair in Manchester where Trev purchased the Taj Mahal. This had been on his wish list but was difficult to find as it had been discontinued. Home it came and was the last model he completed in August 2024.
“Lego provided an excellent distraction not just for Trev but when friends came to visit, some with children, the construction of the Titanic or watching the light in the lighthouse flash or taking the pyramid apart was a far better topic of conversation than how the side effects of chemo had affected him or the balancing act of managing medication,” she added.
Vivienne says the decision to let the models go to auction was “not an easy one”.
“I have kept a couple of models for myself, but this is our way of giving something back to the Hospice.
“I learned that when Trev was in for what turned out to be his last 6 days at St Ann’s that they needed to raise £20,000 a day to continue providing care.
“Trev’s life ended in a pain free restful and comfortable environment where I was allowed to be his wife not his carer. That was a privilege and priceless to me. I do fear that there may be lots of Viv and Trev’s that may not have that dignified end unless sufficient funding is maintained hence why the monies raised from the auctioning of the Lego models will go to St Ann’s Hospice,” she added.
