Today, Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) launches its most heartfelt festive campaign yet — The Christmas That Couldn’t Wait Appeal — to bring moments of joy and comfort to children with life-shortening conditions and their families, at a time when they need it most.
This powerful nationwide appeal features the story of a little girl called Darcy McGuire from Fife, who knew she would not live to see her next Christmas, so CHAS brought it forward, especially for her and her family.
Darcy was referred to Rachel House children’s hospice in Kinross for palliative respite care in 2018 when she was just seven years old after being diagnosed with Chordoma, a one-in-20-million rare cancer usually found in older adults.
Despite the devastating news, Darcy’s spirit never wavered, and her family, along with the Rachel House staff ensured that her time spent at the hospice was full of life, colour, laughter, glitter, and love.
Despite her condition deteriorating Darcy enjoyed singing, dancing, and putting on shows for the nurses. Even when she became paralysed, the dedicated staff found ways to let her be a child.
Darcy’s devoted mum Carol McGregor was grateful for this as it allowed her to just be mum to Darcy and not worry about medication schedules.
Darcy’s condition sadly continued to worsen, and, in November of that year, she told her mum she felt she would not be there for Christmas.
So, CHAS brought Christmas Day forward a month for Darcy. A Christmas tree arrived in her bedroom, and the staff brought crafts to her bed, where she made paper chains and covered everything with glitter. The family room was filled with food and presents.
Christmas Day came early, with joy, sadness and love. The Rachel House team pulled out all the stops with special catering as Darcy couldn’t eat much and the family enjoyed making wonderful Christmas memories together to last a lifetime.
Darcy sadly died on 15 December 2019, aged just eight years old and her funeral took place on Christmas Eve.
Six years on, the family still set a place for her at the Christmas table and even visit Rachel House to relive happy family moments.
Urging people to donate to CHAS’s The Christmas That Couldn’t Wait Appeal, Carol said: “I’ll never forget that these memories only exist thanks to CHAS donors. Some families only get one Christmas. So please, dig deep. You might not realise how much it means. Your donation could give them memories that last a lifetime.”
For over 30 years CHAS has been caring for vulnerable children like Darcy nationwide through a wide range of dedicated services including respite and palliative care at Rachel House and at Robin House in Balloch. The charity also offers a CHAS at Home service that brings specialist nursing care into the homes of children and has doctors and nurses based in hospitals across the country.
CHAS CEO Rami Okasha said: “There are thousands of families across Scotland having to deal with the unthinkable reality that their child may die young. We remain utterly focused on being there for families at every stage of their palliative care journeys, from the moment a parent learns their child is seriously ill and may die young, helping them live well, and providing dignified end-of-life care.
“CHAS provides expert medical, nursing, and social work care for families facing the most difficult times of their lives. We’re seeing more people needing urgent support and, without immediate action, we simply won’t be able to meet this growing demand. We know we can’t reach everyone who needs us without the kindness and generosity of our supporters, so we are asking the Scottish public for their help by donating to our Christmas appeal.”
To donate to CHAS’s The Christmas That Couldn’t Wait Appeal please visit: www.chas.org.uk/appeal.
