Horse lover's final wish fulfilled with pony visit

A lifelong horse lover was able to spend time with two ponies in the final days of her life after a community appeal helped arrange a surprise hospice visit.

Denise Lee, from Ashington, West Sussex, had loved horses since childhood and volunteered with the Riding for the Disabled Association but her cancer diagnosis meant she could no longer ride.

While receiving care at St Barnabas House in Worthing last month, she told the hospice's staff she would love to touch a horse and experience the "horsey smell" again.

A healthcare assistant suggested trying to make the wish happen and Joanne, Denise's daughter, appealed for help through local Facebook community groups.

"She was a horse lover from I think the age of like five or six," Joanne said.

"She loved all animals, but horses were really special to her. So she rode throughout her whole life."

The post was spotted by Kerry Saunders, from Ashington, who offered to bring two Shetland ponies to the hospice.

Staff helped move Denise's bed into a courtyard so she could meet the animals and stroke them, with family members, including her granddaughters, Sassi, aged eight, and Phoebe, aged seven, also there.

"The horses walked round the corner and there wasn't a dry eye in the place," Joanne said.

"Everyone was crying. The staff were there. Her grandchildren were there. We were all there. And it was the most special memory."

Joanne described the response to her appeal as "overwhelming".

The visit took place on Friday 14 August, the last day that her mother was fully conscious, she said, adding: "It was the last wonderful day that we got to spend with her doing something that we know that she loved and wanted to do."

Denise died the following Sunday.

Kerry Saunders said Denise's face "just lit up".

"She was able to stroke them and feel their breath, which is exactly what she wanted," she said.

The former nurse added: "I just felt so privileged to be able to fulfil one of her last wishes, and the ponies were absolutely amazing.

"They put their heads on her bed."

She said the ponies also visited another patient after staff were asked if they could stop by a second room.

Joanne said it was a "fantastic" day that she would look back on with happy memories.

She said: "There's that spark of joy in otherwise what was such an emotionally difficult weekend."

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