Jinny’s close friend, Penny, was cared for on Martlets’ inpatient unit. Their friendship inspired Jinny, a graphic designer, to create her ‘Blue Tit Collection’ and she is generously donating at least £1,000 in sales to Martlets. Here, she talks about her friendship with Penny and the care Penny received from Martlets.
“I started designing my Blue Tit character a few months ago. It was at a time when I was looking after a dear friend and neighbour of mine, Penny, who was on a steady decline with cancer. It was her fifth year of living with the disease which at this stage had spread throughout her body. Penny had already beaten the odds of living this long and she was determined to keep on living.
I would meet up with her every few days to help with her medication and make sure she was doing ok. It felt such a privilege to have that precious time to hear about Penny’s life. She loved nature and I remember her coming into mine for a coffee one day in March.
She sat on my sofa and said, ‘I’d like to live till the end of April, as I want to see the bluebells.’ She was determined to enjoy the simple things that we often take for granted.
Penny only lived two-floors up in our block of flats with her husband Alan. It was easy to pop in and help with things. She often asked about my designs and was even known to share a few of my products with family and friends. She asked about my next project and I said I wasn’t sure. Had I lost the ability to create? Or was it the uncertainty of how the next design would be received that was stopping me from designing?
Then one day, after a coffee with Penny, I came across a beautiful photo on Facebook, taken by nature photographer, Matt Wells. It was a blue tit. I saw it and immediately thought, that’s what I’m going to create. I told Penny and she loved the idea. This motivated me further. I got to work on the design, but a couple of weeks passed and I was beginning to talk myself out of it.
Photograph credit to Matt Wells
‘Who’s going to be interested in a blue tit anyway!’ I thought. But a small voice inside my head answered ‘Who cares what people think. Do it because you love it. And for those that matter to love it.’
Time was passing and Penny had begun to struggle to walk. Each time I saw her, she made me realise that the struggles I thought I had day-to-day were nothing compared to what she was going through. Each day she forced herself to get up, get dressed, and do what she could. She was making the most of each and every moment. One day, when she was too weak to go out, she came in for some time on my sofa. She saw the design I’d been working on and her face lit up. She loved it, and said to me: ‘Now, I want to see that before I go, so you better get on and do it’.
So I contacted my trusty mug manufacturer to tell them a new design was on the way. Everything was in place and finally the new design was in production. All that was left to do now was to hope that the mug would arrive in time for Penny to see.
Soon after, Penny moved into Martlets Hospice and was cared for by an amazing team. All the staff were so lovely, from the people on the front desk to the nurses to the housekeepers.
The care that she had was just something else; she was treated so well and with such compassion. Simple tasks that had become so difficult for Penny were carried out by the team so kindly and respectfully, which allowed her time to focus on precious moments with her family and friends.
However, life was becoming very difficult for Penny and whilst each day was a blessing to see her alive, we knew that day-to-day it was becoming harder for her to live. It was incredibly difficult to watch this wonderful person slipping away.
I’ve never watched someone dying before. Even right at the end, Penny would light up as you walked through the door. I know she was incredibly grateful for the help I gave her towards the end of her life. But I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all she brought to my life too. Her bright nature and positivity and determination to live is a lesson to us all. Even when life didn’t seem worth living with the immense pain and suffering, Penny would find a reason.
I held her hand one day and she told me she was ready to go. We looked at each other and I could tell we both knew how much we had helped each other. I said ‘I’ll never forget you Penny’. We had a big hug and thanked each other, and as I turned to walk away, we waved each other goodbye.
That was the Saturday morning. I couldn’t go and see her on Sunday. It was the one day I didn’t go. And she floated away, like a bird in the sky, during the early hours of Monday morning, 24 April 2023.
Her family, friends and I have all shared such special moments with a truly beautiful soul. And thankfully we were all able to come together for a celebration of her life at her funeral two weeks after she died.
It was the morning my Blue Tit mugs arrived.”
Jinny is generously donating a percentage of net sales made from the Jin Designs Blue Tit Collection, with a minimum of £1,000 to be gifted to Martlets Hospice. View and purchase the Blue Tit Collection
Excerpts of this blog were first published on Jinny’s website and you can read her original blog in full here.
Published 09/06/2023