Bridging the gap, honouring the dead

SHANNON McKnight was able to die comfortably in her Mount Glasgow home.

Just outside of Talbot, that was the only place the 19-year-old wanted to be in her final moments, but honouring that wish wasn’t initially easy.

Diagnosed with acute lymphoid leukaemia at 17, she lived her last two years in and out of Sydney and Melbourne hospitals, which in the end, were no match for her illness.

Once treatment options were exhausted and Shannon wanted to come home, unfortunately, there was no 24-hour palliative care service in her rural area, only Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm operations.

The McKnight family realised quite quickly that if Shannon was to be comfortable and without pain, they would need extra support.

When Shannon’s father, Jeremy McKnight found he didn’t have the resources to relieve a big spike in Shannon’s pain, he got in touch with Creswick GP, Dr Claire Hepper.

Dr Hepper and her colleague, Dr Allison O’Neill, recognised that not even a GP bag was enough to address Shannon’s needs.

Sourcing the right relief and returning, Dr Hepper was able to show Mr McKnight how he could lessen his daughter’s pain when she needed it.

A compassionate young woman, Shannon had been accepted to study nursing at university. During her time in hospital, she had roamed the ward, concerned about other patients.

Shannon worried about her dad and thought more about whether he could cope than she did about her own situation. But Mr McKnight certainly held strong.

Before Shannon passed away, she’d had conversations with her father about their experience and how he could go on to help others.

Those chats sparked charity, Shannon’s Bridge, which bridges the gap in palliative care services, improves rural end of life care and supports grievers and carers.

Nalina Phillips is the Manager of Shannon’s Bridge End of Life Care Hub in Creswick.

She said the organisation started with Shannon’s Packs, which were initially $400 but now, due to kind support and donations, can be made for around $70.

“The pack is not to replace the wonderful palliative care services that exist, but to help when there are gaps before services can attend,” Ms Phillips said.

“They are provided to GPs to help support loved ones in the wonderful home care they are already doing.”

After launching the packs, donations grew, an equipment loan pool was established, and now a 50-strong volunteer database helps carers with respite and any home maintenance tasks they just can’t juggle.

Active in the community, the charity will host a ‘dios de los muertos’ celebration over All Saint’s Day, Friday 1 November and All Soul’s Day, Saturday 2 November.

“The Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition, honouring loved ones that have died,” Ms Phillips said.

“They’re remembering loved ones, talking about them, photos are going up, they’re eating the food and drinking the drinks that their loved ones used to have.”

There will be face painting, traditional sugar skull making and flower crowns from 10am to 4pm on both days at the Creswick Hub, 94 Albert Street.

Shannon’s Bridge hopes to remove the taboo around death, dying and grieving.

“It’s a bit of the elephant in the room,” Ms Phillips said. “No one wants to talk about it, people think it’s morbid, so for us, death literacy and death education is a big part of what we do, getting people comfortable around those words, celebrating and talking.

“It’s ok to talk about people who’ve died.”

A Day of the Dead Dinner will be held on the Friday night at The American Hotel, 90 Albert Street, Creswick. Bookings are essential.

Email [email protected] for more information. Dinner bookings can be made via [email protected].