By Dionne Meehan
A SAINT Johnston man has paid a heartfelt tribute to the staff of the Donegal Hospice, who cared for his beloved father during his final days, by raising an impressive €32,000 in his honour.
In April, Garret Wilson fulfilled his late father John’s wish by embarking on the Portuguese Camino to raise money for the hospice.
Garret, alongside his friend Gary Ryan, undertook the gruelling 250km journey in memory of his father who passed away last October.
Garret Wilson.
In addition to his working life at Irwin Electrical in Buncrana, John was an avid lover of the outdoors, spending much of his time on the hills.
But as his health fluctuated over the years due to numerous cancer diagnoses, this passion had to take a backseat.
With the family turning to the Donegal Hospice for help in relieving John’s pain, he began receiving wonderful care.
So much so, his last wish was for his son Garret to complete the Camino and raise funds for the charity.
Throughout the 11 day pilgrimage, Garret said the unwavering care and kindness of the hospice staff inspired him to keep moving forward.
“Unfortunately, the hospice and cancer is not unique to my family,” he told the Donegal News.
John Wilson.
“I think when it comes to mentioning the hospice and the staff of the hospice; everyone understands that they provide a service which goes very much under the radar.
“My father was pretty unique in the fact he had four stays in the hospice.
“The times he went into the hospice he was in a lot of pain, his quality of life wasn’t great and maybe within one week of being in there, he was able to bounce back with the treatment he received.”
With the hospice receiving limited government funding to provide their services, Garret hopes the money he raised will go towards supporting another family.
“All the help and all the good work the hospice does is through funding from the community and from families, with not a lot of funding coming from the Government,” he said.
“Someone had to run a coffee morning or a marathon to pay for the care my father received.
“We know ourselves we wouldn’t have been able to manage without the hospice.
“There aren’t many families in Donegal that doesn’t have some interaction with the hospice.
“We are hoping this money might go towards helping some other family.”
Mindful that money isn’t plentiful, Garret said he was blown away by the support his fundraiser received.
“People really dug deep,” he said.
Garret Wilson presenting a Franciscan Blessing to Olivia Kelly for the staff of the Donegal Hospice. The blessing was obtained following his completion of the Portuguese Camino.
“There are a lot of families out there who are unfortunately in the same position as we were last year.
“I remember the first day I heard that my father was going into the hospice; I actually thought that was the beginning of the end.
“Where, it is far from that.
“My father was a perfect example; he was in and out four times.
“It was always a good, positive experience for him.
“Once you hold a fundraiser for the hospice, I think everyone rolls in behind you.”
A special event took place in The Plaza in Buncrana on Saturday night where Garret presented a cheque to the Donegal Hospice.
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