1300 reasons
to build a second Rachel House

By Craig Robertson IT HAS bedrooms overlooking expansive gardens set in beautiful countryside. It has a jacuzzi and a games room with all the latest computer releases and CDs to choose from. Staff are on hand 24 hours a day to care for your every need and nothing is too much trouble. It appears to have everything one would want. Sounds great? Just pray that you never have the need to book in. Rachel House is Scotland’s only children’s hospice, tending to the needs of youngsters who suffer from a life-limiting condition. In other words, they will not live to adulthood. Accepted When they cross the threshold, it means families are learning to live with this knowledge.

Student helper Julie helps Gemma and Sophie with some artwork.

But having accepted the unacceptable there could be no better place for any parent to take their child.
An army of staff and volunteers — nurses, nursery nurses, physiotherapists, a home support and a social worker, cooks, cleaners, office staff, gardeners and handymen — provide care for the children and families round the clock.
Living with life-limiting conditions is incredibly stressful. It is as distressing and restrictive for mums and dads as it is for the children themselves.
All are in desperate need of regular breaks and care. That’s where Rachel House comes in.
Families can come for weeks, weekends or the odd day here and there. When it is needed, Rachel House is there.
I’ve visited the hospice a few times now and people always ask me the same question, “What’s it like?”
They fear the worst. They imagine a sad, depressing place with children sitting around waiting to die — and nothing could be further from the truth.
Laughter and smiles are much more common than tears.
This is not a place that can offer miracles — no-one even pretends they are going to happen. Instead, they make whatever time children and their parents have there as much fun and as productive as possible.
They play in the lounge or the art room, go wild in the computer and music rooms, go on visits to pop concerts, the seaside, ice hockey games, safari parks and the like.
The exception to the rule of fun is when a glass dove hangs on the front door of the hospice.
This is the sign that there has been a death in the house and a bereaved family is in residence. Although death is never far from anyone’s mind, it is still a crushing blow when it comes.
But death is part of Rachel House life and they deal with it.
In some ways, the hospice has become a victim of its own success. As word has spread of the wonderful work done there, more and more parents are anxious to take advantage of care at the house.
Exception
As yet, the demand can be met but they are rapidly approaching the stage where they will be struggling to cope.
The last thing anyone at Rachel House wants is to refuse accommodation to a needy family. That goes against everything they stand for.
Yet there are around 1300 families all over Scotland who could use their services. That is 1300 reasons why a second hospice needs to be built.
The new house will have everything that Rachel House has but will also have additional facilities for teenagers. Being a teenager with a life-limiting condition still brings all the angst and agonies it does for those with healthy bodies.
The frustration of teenagers who hunger to taste everything life has to offer is multiplied a hundred times when you know life is short.
The second hospice will stand on the banks of Loch Lomond and will cost £10 million to build, equip and help underpin the running costs.
That’s a huge amount but fund-raising is already well in progress and the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) are halfway towards that target.
With your help, we can push them towards the magic £10 million.

Rachel House.

You can e-mail us at: hospice@sundaypost.com