Kindertransport refugee Leon Ettinger died peacefully at home in the early hours of a December morning with his daughter at his side and with our Out of Hours community team supporting her.
Leon, 95, was lovingly supported since the death of his beloved wife Anita in 2010 by his daughter Jackie and son Steven and some very dedicated carers. Despite being diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2011, he remained positive and full of life bringing much joy to those around him even when his physical condition and the Alzheimers took a greater toll on his health.
He wanted to remain in his home and his family were determined and able to respect this wish with the support of North London Hospice.
Funding for our Out of Hours service comes to an end in the autumn 2021 and we are asking our community to help fund this vital team so that patients like Leon together with their families continue to receive the help they need overnight.
Jackie who had moved in with her father for the last two months of his life told us: “On the night dad died when he was in a lot of distress the nurses came out three times. They couldn’t have even got back to the office and I was on the phone again. They were so kind, gentle and respectful and most importantly kept him out of pain.
“We were adamant that he would not die in hospital and NLH enabled us to achieve this. As well as being there to administer medication that I would have been unable to do they were a fantastic support to me. I was so exhausted and actually cried when I was told that one of the support team was going to stay at the flat the last two nights. This meant I could grab even a couple of hours of sleep.
“My mum died in the hospice and whilst this was a wonderful facility the fact that the Out of Hours team now exists gave Dad a peaceful end at home which he so deserved. We couldn’t have given him that without the dedication of the out of hours team.”
