Russ Windle

Over the past few months Bluebell Wood has supported me and my family in ways that are hard to write down, for those who have heard my story before unfortunately this chapter is a very sad one, Olivia lost her battle with Battens Disease on April 3rd (Good Friday) 2026, she had been hospitalised several times over the last 12 months with aspirational pneumonia, a complication often experienced by Battens Children. Once it became apparent that this latest battle was one Olivia was likely to lose Bluebell Wood offered support like I’d never imagined possible, we were quickly transferred from the hospital to the Hospice to be cared for by the team of nurses up there and as a whole family we spent the next 5 days worrying about nothing other than surrounding Olivia with the love of family and friends, we had visitors at all hours. When I said we worried for nothing I mean literally that, we were fed, watered and were provided with all the time and space we needed to ensure Olivia was surrounded by all her family and close friends, the staff at the Hospice became like family, a shoulder to cry on, a distraction keeping us entertained. After Olivia had passed away, we were still fully supported by the team at Bluebell, we moved into the Family Lounge (Forget-me-not Suite) where we were able to spend the next 6 days as a family supported by the team and friends while remaining close to Olivia, our whole family(including our 2 dogs) stayed up at Bluebell without a care in the world other than to grieve for Olivia and to support each other through this devastating time.