{"id":254954,"date":"2025-07-11T01:37:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T01:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/254954\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T01:37:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T01:37:29","slug":"terminally-ill-patients-last-wish-granted-to-see-a-horse-one-more-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/254954\/","title":{"rendered":"Terminally ill patient\u2019s last wish granted, to see a horse one more time"},"content":{"rendered":"
  • \n

    The family of a terminally ill woman who was able to see a horse one more time said her face was \u201cfilled with joy\u201d as her last wish came true.<\/p>\n

    Allison Charlton, 63, spent five weeks on the palliative care ward at Wansbeck General Hospital, Northumberland, before she died last month. Allison had always loved horses and riding, with her sons Jamie and John.<\/p>\n


    \n <\/p>\n

    \u201cWhen she mentioned to staff that she would love to see a horse for the last time they were able to rally round to make her dream a reality,\u201d a spokesperson for the Northumbria Healthcare NHS trust said.<\/p>\n

    \u201cOne of the healthcare assistants caring for Allison had a relative who owned a horse. Teams on the ward organised for the horse to be brought to the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Allison and her family met Dale and Daisy Wharton\u2019s 15-year-old cob<\/a> Charlie outside, and she was able to stroke him, and feed him carrots.<\/a><\/p>\n


    \n <\/p>\n

    Her sons said: \u201cShe\u2019d spoken about how much she\u2019d loved horses to the staff on the ward. When they suggested she might get to see one in person, I don\u2019t know how much she thought it was actually going to happen. Her face lit up like a kid at Christmas<\/a>!<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt was a really nice memory for us to have. We had horses when we were kids. You can tell her face was filled with absolute joy. It was emotional for us as well to see her get that last wish.<\/p>\n

    \u201cBeing able to fulfil people\u2019s wishes like this makes a huge difference. It was something for her to hold on to and gave her a chance to fulfil her dream. The care she received was outstanding. The staff made our mam feel happy, safe and comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Palliative care staff nurse Avril Robinson said the team does \u201cwhatever it takes\u201d in such situations.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAs a team in palliative care, we always try to fulfil our patients\u2019 last wishes,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes a huge difference to the patient and their families. It also has a positive impact on staff morale; it\u2019s a privilege for us to be involved in delivering this experience that was appreciated so much by the patient and her family.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Allison was able to use a mobility scooter during her time in hospital, which gave her more freedom and independence. In gratitude, her family and friends raised enough money for such a scooter, which they have donated to the ward in Allison\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n

    You may also be interested in:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"\"\t<\/p>\n

    \n \u2018He was so happy to see his mum and he knew it was an unusual situation\u2019\n <\/p>\n

    \"\"\t<\/p>\n

    \t\t\tCredit: Sam Dractoo\/Dinky Ponies\t\t<\/p>\n

    \"\"\t<\/p>\n

    \t\t\tCredit: Future\t\t<\/p>\n


    \n\tStay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2025 with a Horse & Hound subscription.\u00a0    Subscribe today<\/a>\u00a0for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our\u00a0expert team of reporters\u00a0and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already?\u00a0Set up your\u00a0unlimited website access now<\/a> \n<\/p>\n

    \t\t\"Eleanor<\/p>\n


    \n\t\t\t
    H&H news editor<\/strong> \n\t\t<\/p>\n


    \n\t\t\t\tEleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

    \t\t\"Eleanor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of a terminally ill woman who was able to see a horse one more time said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4316],"tags":[105,4348,12,14,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-254954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114832044630004750","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}