'Cuddle bed gave us back our togetherness'

When Darren Powell became paralysed from the waist down following a terminal cancer diagnosis, all he wanted to do was cuddle up with his partner Nikki Smith and savour every last moment together.

But having been given a traditional nursing bed at home, proper hugs were not possible and they were forced to sleep in separate rooms.

While staying at St Leonard's Hospice in York, the couple were given access to a so-called "cuddle bed" - a specially adapted bed that allows partners and family members to lie side by side.

Mr Powell, 57, from Camblesforth near Selby, said: "We know we're not going to be here for long together, so to have the time together, it means a lot to us both."

The beds cost £15,000 each and St Leonard's has just taken delivery of two more, bringing the total at the Tadcaster Road site to four.

Following a year-long campaign, a widow from York and her family have raised almost £60,000 to cover the cost.

Louise Ryan had herself experienced the pain of not being able to cuddle her husband Nick in the last months of his life.

He died aged 46 in October 2023 after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour.

Ms Ryan decided that she would try to raise the money for one of the beds.

Little did she realise the response they would have, raising four times what they expected.

A tearful Mr Powell, who was lying in the cuddle bed alongside 53-year-old Ms Smith, said: "If we didn't have the bed, we'd have just been at home, Nikki being upstairs and me downstairs."

Ms Smith said: "It takes away a lot of your life, illness, a lot of your togetherness.

"So, it's something we never dreamed possible, I suppose."

When Mr Powell had become paralysed in May, all the pair had wanted to do was to continue to share a bed and "cuddle up" - but had been unable to do so in a nursing bed.

Ms Smith said: "This extending out into a double has allowed us to have date nights, movie nights, share takeaways and actually cuddle up together."

The couple said the bed had also meant that they were able to "cuddle up" with grandchildren when they had visited the hospice, and even the family dog.

They said they had gone to extraordinary lengths to be able to sleep next to each other at home.

"We bought all sorts to go next to the nursing bed at home, every air bed going, every recliner going - anything to fit next to it," Ms Smith said.

"But none of them amount to this, none of them."

An emotional Ms Ryan said: "To see how much benefit it has made to those two people.

"It's just so worthwhile to see first hand what I would have liked to experience.

"I'm so happy that we could help them. It's amazing."

Ms Ryan said she wished there had been a cuddle bed at St Leonard's when her husband was receiving care there, because contact was "very quickly lost", and their children were unable to cuddle him properly.

She said: "I can't believe we've raised this amount of money and got the beds here."

She said her husband would have been "so proud" of they way they had focussed on raising the money in "such a sad time".

Ms Ryan's sister-in-law, Michelle Smith, also played a big part in the fundraising effort.

She said: "You don't realise how something as simple as contact and a cuddle can change how you feel.

"I think the legacy that this leaves behind is incredible."

The care provided at St Leonard’s Hospice is offered free of charge, and as a charity it relies heavily on the generosity of supporters like Ms Ryan and her family.

With only a quarter of its funding coming from the NHS, the hospice must raise an additional £6m every year to make sure services can continue.

Ruth Hall, deputy director of clinical services at St Leonard's, said she was "incredibly proud" of what Ms Ryan and her family had achieved and "really grateful".

"The absolute purpose of the beds is to bring families together," she added.

The beds also help patients with issues such as pain or discomfort by giving them more space, and help staff provide care more effectively.

Mr Powell and Ms Smith said they could not thank the family who had raised the money for the beds enough for what they had done - which they said was "absolutely amazing".

"To give people a life back, even if it's only a few months of life, it's unbelievable," Mr Powell added.

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