This year’s Christmas campaign shines a light on the impact of compassionate hospice care through the story of Bex Oglina, told by her best friend Lucy Layzell, a nurse at Little Havens. Lucy found herself on the other side of hospice care when Bex became a patient at Fair Havens.

Lucy, who has dedicated her career to supporting children and families through end-of-life care at Little Havens, experienced first-hand the compassion, dignity and comfort that hospice care provides when Bex was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at just 32 years old.

After months in and out of hospital, Bex chose Fair Havens for her final months – somewhere she could find peace, comfort and precious time with her young son Zu and all her loved ones.

Lucy recalls, “For Bex, the care at Fair Havens was about more than medicine. It was about the things that made her – cake, music, jigsaws, laughter. It was about being with the people she loved. We had sleepovers, movie nights, and even a roast dinner in the garden. Things we never could have done in hospital.”

The hospice offered something hospital settings could not – quiet moments, family time and the chance to simply be present with the people who mattered most.

Lucy said, “I remember the moment we arrived. We drove together from the hospital, two nurses were waiting outside with a wheelchair and oxygen, ready to welcome her in. Inside, there was cake waiting in her room. Bex loved cake. It was such a small thing, but in that moment, I knew she was home.”

Fair Havens helped Bex to spend meaningful time with her son, Zu, even arranging for him to celebrate his second birthday at the hospice.

Lucy continued, “We are giving him the life Bex would have wanted, but no one will ever fill her place. And that’s why we are so grateful for the memories we had the chance to create because of Fair Havens.”

“As a nurse myself at our children’s hospice Little Havens, I’ve always known the importance of good care at the end of someone’s life, but being on the other side of it changed everything. Those are the things I remember of the last few months of her life; it’s all memories we treasure now.”

“Bex died in August 2024, at just 33 years old. If she hadn’t come to Fair Havens, she wouldn’t have been as comfortable in the last months of her life, and I don’t think we would have had those extra weeks with her. The hospice didn’t just care for Bex; they gave us time – time to laugh, to cry, to make memories that will last a lifetime. And for that, I will always be grateful.”

This Christmas, hundreds of local children and families will need the care and support that only Havens Hospices can provide. Through the Make Your Mark campaign, the charity is asking the community to donate and help lift the care for everyone who needs them.

Make Your Mark is inspired by artwork Bex created during a Creative Therapy session. She created a colourful house surrounded by uplifting balloon “fingerprints” from the people she loved. This design has now been transformed into a stunning window dsplay at Fair Havens, thanks to Chalk of the Town.

Bex’s son, Zu, and Lucy recently added their own messages of love to the display. Now, Havens Hospices is inviting members of the public to do the same.

Send a message of support for patients, families, care teams, or in memory of someone special online and their volunteers will write the message on a balloon tag to add to the display at Fair Havens.

To Make Your Mark this Christmas, supporters can donate and send a message to be added to the display, by visiting: www.havenshospices.org.uk/christmasmessage

Published on 4th December 2025