For Claire Webber, LOROS provided a sanctuary for her and husband Colin during her final days. After battling cancer for eight years, Claire died at the hospice on November 5 last year, aged just 42. For the two weeks she spent at LOROS, Colin was by her side for almost every moment, and said nothing was too much trouble for the "phenomenal" staff.
He was even allowed to bring their pet springer spaniels, Bonnie and Clyde, into Claire's ward to spend time with her.
Colin, of Market Harborough, is supporting the Leicester Mercury LOROS Appeal, which aims to help the charity in its vital work.
The Leicester Mercury is aiming to raise £450,000 towards the cost of an extension which has provided 11 more single rooms, giving patients and their families more privacy. We are aiming to raise £50,000 by Christmas and intend to continue our campaign in the months which follow to collect the rest.
Colin, 42, says he will be eternally grateful for the way Claire was cared for. He said: "You just can't describe how good it was. When she got there she was in absolute agony. But within an hour her pain was under control and she was sitting up talking."
"I practically lived there the whole time. I slept in the chair next to her. They offered me a separate room but I always wanted to be there when she woke up."
Colin met Claire when they joined the police force together in 1998, and they were married three years later.
Just eight months into the marriage, Claire was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the beginning of 2003 she was told it was terminal, and doctors gave her about 18 months to live. Not only did Claire continue to fight the disease for almost six years, but she also managed to run the London Marathon with Colin, helping to raise £12,500 for Cancer Research UK in 2007. The couple also received a national bravery award after foiling a diamond thief while on holiday in New York.
Colin says his wife was determined to fight for as long as possible. He said: "Claire was very lucky and had all the latest treatments available. She had a lumpectomy to start with but it became obvious the cancer had gone past that. I've lost count of how many different types of chemo she had. She just had a general love for life which kept her going, but she went downhill very rapidly in the last few months. She walked into the infirmary about three-and-a-half weeks before she passed away. Within four to five days she couldn't walk at all. It was spreading that fast." The cancer had spread to her liver, spine and areas of her brain. Doctors offered to try another type of chemotherapy, but Claire decided enough was enough.
Colin said: "The day she decided she wasn't going to take any more treatment, that's when they moved her to LOROS. It was incredible. We had our dogs and I was allowed to take them in to see her and they were up on the bed with her. The staff are just absolutely sensational. It can't be easy for them, it must be a pretty traumatic place to work sometimes, but they're incredible. It's like you're staying in a five star hotel."