53-year-old Kate, from London, was visiting the island for her mum’s 80th birthday last September when she became very ill to the point where she couldn’t get out of bed.

She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, which had spread to her bones and caused fractures in her neck, spine, and pelvis. After long stays in hospitals on the mainland and on the Island undergoing treatment to control the cancer, she still struggled to move or care for herself.

But six weeks after Kate came to Mountbatten’s inpatient unit, the difference is incredible.

“Mountbatten literally got me back on my feet. I came in bedbound and now I can walk.”

“When I arrived, I was in a bad place. I was thinking; will this get better? Will I ever get my life back?

“But the rehabilitation team came to meet me, talked me through some goals and said we would go at my pace. They worked with me almost every day and the sessions were brilliant, we had so much fun and laughter.”

“I was emotional over every small achievement. Putting my foot on the floor. Seeing the sky because I could get out of bed. Going to the toilet by myself. You don’t realise how important these things are until they’re gone.”

Watch Kate walk independently just six weeks after she was bedbound. 

Kate has made so much progress during her time on the inpatient unit that she’s now able to go home, staying with her mum until she’s independent enough to move back to London.

“I’m taking it one day at a time, but I’m feeling so much more positive. I wake up every day excited about what I might achieve.”

“I never would have guessed how incredible Mountbatten was. When you hear the word hospice, you think end-of-life. But actually, they’ve given me my life back.”

Our expert rehabilitation and inpatient teams can only be there because of your support. Thank you for helping people like Kate get back on their feet. 

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