LOROS Hospice

Wedding bells again! 💍💐

This afternoon Mark and Natalie held a blessing ceremony in our chapel.

In a lovely ceremony surrounded by their children the couple’s relationship was blessed after nearly 13 years together.

In a celebration pulled together at top speed, even by LOROS standards, Mark arrived on our ward at 3pm on Wednesday, less than 24 hours ago!

Tracy Gaskin, who works on our ward, said “We asked Mark if there was anything we could do, and he said ‘yes, I’d like to get married’ so we did everything we could.

We have been donated a cake and a bouquet, and we have a few wedding dresses here at LOROS in various different styles. Luckily one fitted Natalie perfectly.”

The LOROS team swung into action and transformed the social area into a beautiful wedding venue, with flowers, banners and balloons.

Many, many congratulations to Natalie and Mark on this special day xx

Huge thanks to North's - Rothley for supplying the cake and Budding Floral Design for the lovely bouquet.

As the sunshine continues, our care never stops ☀️💛

At LOROS, our patients can enjoy the fresh air and peaceful surroundings from our beautiful gardens, with shaded patio areas and a welcoming gazebo providing the perfect spot to relax out of the sun if they wish.

There's even the chance of a special visitor—our friendly hospice duck sometimes waddles by to brighten everyone's day! 🦆

Thank you to everyone who supports LOROS. Your generosity helps us continue providing compassionate care and comfort for our patients and their loved ones, whatever the weather. 🌞

We had a very special CHANCE Club visit last week!🐴🐶🐰🐹🐢

We were delighted to welcome Phoenix Charity, who kindly brought along some very special visitors for our children to meet!

The children were thrilled to spend time with a wonderful range of animals, including a pony, a dog, a rabbit, guinea pigs and even tortoises.

The fantastic team from Phoenix Charity took the time to introduce each animal, explaining their personalities, what they like and dislike, and how to care for them. The children loved learning all about the animals and asking lots of questions.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was feeding lettuce leaves to the tortoises and watching them explore the garden. Who knew tortoises could be such adventurers? They certainly weren't as slow as we expected!

There were lots of opportunities for cuddles too, with the rabbit and guinea pigs proving very popular. The children also had great fun throwing a stick for the dog and were absolutely delighted to take the pony for a walk around the garden and help brush its mane.

Alongside our animal experience, the children also enjoyed our regular craft activity, creating beautiful bead keyrings to take home.

Stacy Munday, Schools and Young Persons Coordinator, said: "It was wonderful to have the animals join us. The children were so excited to meet them, especially as it was a surprise which animals would be visiting. Animals have a unique way of bringing comfort, calm and happiness, and for bereaved children they can provide gentle companionship, encourage confidence and create positive memories. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces throughout the session was truly heart-warming."

A huge thank you to everyone at Phoenix Charity for delivering such a fantastic session. The children absolutely loved every minute of it. Animal visits are something they ask for time and time again, and it was wonderful to see the excitement the animals brought to the group. 💛

The LOROS Big Day Out on 8th August - cancelled

Just to let you know, we have taken the decision to cancel our Big Day Out event in August 2026. We love the Big Day Out; showing the community our amazing hospice is so important, but, like Glastonbury, we’ve decided to take a fallow year, and come back bigger and better than ever in 2027.

Meanwhile there are lots of other events you can attend this summer to support LOROS, from bike rides and fairs, to concerts and music festivals. Visit loros.co.uk for more. As always, thank you for your support – it makes a real difference.

Looking for ways to keep young people entertained over the summer holidays? 🌞

Whether it’s your own children, neighbours, or keeping little ones busy during family time — why not turn that energy into something meaningful by fundraising for LOROS?

We’ve seen some amazing ideas, such as:
🚴 Sponsored bike rides around the block (10 laps challenge!)
🍋 Lemonade stands on the driveway
🎨 Handmade crafts or bracelets to sell
🧁 Mini bake sales with friends and neighbours

It doesn’t have to be big — just something fun and creative!

Every little idea can make a big difference, helping support patients, families, and young people in our community.

If you’d like a bit of help getting started, or need ideas and resources, feel free to get in touch at [email protected]

Lucy Boyall, aged 22, from Leicester, took on a skydive a few weeks back in memory of her Dad, Andrew. Here is her . 💛

“I have had many experiences with LOROS throughout my life. Both of my grandparents spent time in the hospice before they passed away, so the care LOROS provides has always meant a great deal to me and my family. But the experience that will always stay with me most is when my Dad was admitted to LOROS shortly before he passed away.

Dad was diagnosed with stage four terminal cancer in 2019. His initial diagnosis was quite a shock as he had gone to the doctors for stomach pains and then taken to hospital where they discovered he had bowel cancer. He hadn’t experienced any noticeable symptoms so it was a big shock for him too. Three years later he was admitted into LOROS for end-of-life care.

He was cared for at LOROS for just under a week and from the moment he arrived, the care he received was incredible. Every member of staff treated him with kindness, dignity and compassion, making sure he was always comfortable and that every need was met. During one of the hardest times in our lives, they gave him the best possible care, and for that I will always be grateful.

What stood out just as much was the support they gave to me and the rest of our family. The team were always there — answering the phone at all hours when I wanted to check on my Dad, allowing me to sit with him for as long as I needed, and even preparing a room and bed if I wanted to stay overnight with him.

One person who made a particularly huge impact was one of the nurses, Amy Rear. She looked after both my Dad and me with such care and compassion, making sure we were okay and helping him to remain as comfortable as possible. Her support during that time is something I will never forget.

To honour my Dad, I decided to take on a skydive challenge. He had such a strong sense of adventure and always dreamed of travelling and experiencing new things — although I am sure he would be panicking knowing I am jumping out of a plane! I will be doing the skydive alongside my best friend, who also knew my dad and has her own personal connection with LOROS.

We wanted to do something meaningful to say thank you and give back to the hospice that gave so much to us. As LOROS relies so heavily on donations, fundraising feels like one small way to show our appreciation for the incredible work they do every day.

Together, we are aiming to raise a minimum of £500, although we are hoping to raise as much as possible for such an important cause.

I am incredibly excited to take on the skydive — it is something I have wanted to do for a long time — although as the day gets closer, I have to admit the nerves are definitely starting to kick in!

It is hard to fully put into words how much this challenge means to me. Taking part in something like this is not only about raising money, but about honouring my Dad and thanking the people at LOROS who cared for us during such a difficult time. It brings me even more comfort to know that I am doing the skydive so close to Father’s Day. It feels like a great way to honour him. I truly could not have asked for a better experience at the hospice, and I know he would have felt exactly the same.”

Since completing her skydive, Lucy has raised an incredible £1,350 for LOROS — almost three times her original fundraising target.

Reflecting on the experience, Lucy said: “Doing the skydive was incredible, definitely something I’d want to do again, and to raise as much money as we did for LOROS meant so much to myself and others as I know the difference LOROS can make.

I’d like to thank everyone who supported me during this time and donated to such an amazing cause.”

Happy ✨

Wedding bells klaxon! 💞

This morning Rachel, 54, wed her partner of 24 years, John, 55, in our hospice gardens.

With close friends, family and their daughter Lizzy, aged 13, beside them, the couple tied the knot in the sunshine surrounded by roses.

Rachel, who was admitted to our inpatient ward a few days ago, was given a guard of honour by the LOROS team who clapped her and daughter Lizzy as they made their way from ward room to wedding.

Rachel is a nurse and works as a deputy sister at the Leicester General Hospital. She was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer just two weeks ago.

She said: “I’d been off work with stress and had developed a problem swallowing. I was sent for an endoscopy where they found a tumour. A few days later I developed really bad stomach pain and a CT scan showed that the cancer had spread to my liver. I knew nothing could be done, it was such an aggressive cancer, it was too late for surgery. My consultant told me we were looking at weeks.

“I wanted to go home but LOROS had a bed for me, and, because I didn’t want to die at home, it seemed best to come here. It’s so calm at LOROS and I want to spend time with the people I love, and try to get things sorted for John and Lizzy. Everyone’s been so amazing here, I feel it’s the right place to be. ”

Many, many congratulations to the happy couple💞

Big thanks to the nurses on ward 21 at the Leicester Royal Infirmary who arranged such a beautiful wedding.

We had a sparkling time at our Twilight Walk! ✨💜🌟

This week's is shining bright as we send a glittering thank you to everyone who helped make this year's Twilight Walk such a phenomenal success!

Over 900 of you lit up the streets of Leicester for our 10km walk, celebrating, remembering and honouring loved ones.

Special thanks go to:
✨ De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) for hosting our event
✨ Dryad Education for sponsoring the event
✨ And, of course, our incredible volunteers and marshals

We simply couldn't do it without you. 💛

We're delighted to share that you've already helped raise an incredible £75,000 and counting! Every penny will help us continue to provide compassionate care and comfort to those who need us most. Thank you for walking, sparkling and making a difference.

Take a look at some of our favourite glowing moments and visit the full gallery here: loros.co.uk/twilightgallery

You all helped make the night glow. THANK YOU! ✨🌟💫