"My handsome man" - Maggie and Steve's story

Maggie speaks about ‘larger than life’ husband Steve, and raising funds at his Celebration of Life  

When losing a loved one, ‘firsts’ are always hard. Maggie shared her story on what would have been Steve’s 81^st birthday and their 4th wedding anniversary.

Their friendship spanned 22 years, but it wasn’t until 6 years ago that her romance with Steve blossomed.  

“Steve was a fit 80-year-old. Six foot two, broad shoulders. I used to call him my handsome man. His passion was cars. Steve was a great rally cross driver who built and maintained his cars. He had 2 races last year, at 80 he still wanted to do that.” 

Steve had fought and won a battle with bladder cancer, only for it to return and spread to numerous organs in his body, 13 years later.  

“It was a real blow. He was advised to have his bladder removed but they had to take his prostate, appendix and fifteen lymph nodes too.” 

Maggie and Steve were referred to the hospice by Macmillan at Maidstone Hospital. Initially reluctant to come, Maggie convinced Steve to go for a coffee at the hospice Hub.  

“Steve was a reserved man, I’m the chatty one, so initially we sat at our own table. Until we met Chris, one of the volunteers at the Hub. She is a car fanatic too, so they talked about cars non-stop.” 

Steve and Maggie had been coming to the Hub for 8 weeks when Steve’s health suddenly and dramatically declined. Despite wanting to care for him at home until the end of his life, Maggie knew she could no longer support his needs, and Steve was admitted to the hospice Inpatient Unit. 

“I got to be his wife again and not just his carer and I held his hand until the end. It was so peaceful. I can't thank the nurses enough. It’s an incredible job they do day after day. They're not only there for the person that's passing, they're also there for the family members. One of the nurses, Laura, treated Steve with such dignity and made him feel like he was a person, not a number. It takes special people to make you feel that way.” 

Organised by Steve’s children, the family raised funds at his Celebration of Life, asking all those who attended to ‘dig deep’ in support of the hospice.  

“We asked for donations at the wake because the nurses are angels and to discover the hospice survives on donations made us want to help.” 

“Steve was my life and I miss him terribly. Especially today, but I wouldn’t be as settled as I am today without the hospice. The people here really care.”