Has the Sue Ryder Online Community helped you? Whether you’ve posted yourself or you visit to read ongoing conversations, we’d love to hear from you. Last year we heard from over 150 of you about how you are using the community and how we might make it better.
We’re always looking for ways to improve this community and ensure it’s as safe and supportive as possible. This is your community so we want to hear more about what you think works (or doesn’t) and what might make your time here a more supportive experience.
The survey closes at midnight on Sunday 31st March, so make sure you take a few minutes to share your thoughts before then.
Take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SueRyderOnlineCommunity2019
Thank you,
Eleanor
Hello Eleanor
I joined the Sue Ryder online Community a short while after my husband passed away at one of the Sue Ryder hospice. I was in a bad place at the time as my husband passed away so quickly and I wasn’t prepared for it. He was diagnosed at the end of Feb 2017 and passed away on the 2nd May 2017.
I know some of our friends here had shorter time or longer, but whatever it is no one is prepared for it and it hits you like a brick wall.
My husband was a fiit man , ex army man and had never complained until the pass few weeks when we were told he had a chest infection and arthritis which turned out to be lung cancer and had spread to his bones and his spine. He passed away with Terminal additation which was terrible as I did not know what was happening and his last words to me were shouting. I thought I was the only person to feel the way I did until I got the courage to sign up and was amazed that other people were feeling the same as me and going through the same motions of tears and anger.
It will be 2 years in May but feels as if yesterday and I believe the 2nd year is worse as you have had the time to sort through all the piles of paperwork and re organisation of your life when suddenly it hits you that you are alone for the very first time in many years.
It had been interesting to read how different people are coping with this new life thrown at them and how they reach out to others with advice and comfort.
I now volunteer at one of Sue Ryder’s hospice and just giving back a little and so thankful for the support they have given me. I hope in time our friends can find away of joining a group and share their experiences and help some of the group in some ways. It is nice to know we have someone there to listen to us and know just how we are felling. Thank you.
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Hello
I hope to be able to do the survey to express my positive opinion of the community.
The Sue Ryder was not the first forum I joined in my quest for support/comfort. I’d previously joined what seemed to be a global site. There were some good people, some really good people, on that forum. However, I began to feel unnerved, as if some contributors weren’t “real”, and some of the people posting really didn’t hold back when it would have been better to. However, I’d put that last point down to cultural differences. Thank goodness I then found myself here. It’s been a long time since I joined and I found it to be a “gentle” site, full of compassion and support and above all, it feels “safe” even though there can never be any guarantees on any site.
Practically speaking, out of all the forums I’ve visited, including the major UK charity bereavement/illness sites I have to say the Sue Ryder is the most user-friendly, the most pleasant in appearance and the most welcoming in its tone. The last thing you want when wading through grief is trying to work out how to use the site before you can get the help you need. I’m still very much drawn to the community, despite a fair amount of time having elapsed since first joining.
Here’s hoping for no radical “makeovers”!
Thanks for providing what feels like a safe haven in very tough times.
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Thank you for your very kind words about this site, Tina. I’m glad you found yourself here and that you find it supportive, compassionate and safe. Thank you to you too for you kind, insightful and caring posts.
With very best wishes,
Eleanor
Thank you, Barn Owl, for your kind words about this site and for sharing your experience of being here. I agree that it’s interesting to read how different people are coping with their lives - those different perspectives can be so helpful and provide new ways of looking at things. I’m so glad that you found this community and the supportive people here.
I hope you’re enjoying volunteering at one of hospices.
With best wishes,
Eleanor