Ellen's Story
“The volunteers that came into my house…they rescued us.”
When Ellen’s husband Ian became unwell, life changed completely. Peninsula Home Hospice volunteers brought connection, comfort and something Ellen deeply looked forward to during one of the hardest times of her life.
Ian and Ellen
When Ellen and her husband Ian moved to the Mornington Peninsula, they imagined a very different kind of retirement.
They had plans. A motor home. A life ahead that was meant to be filled with travel, freedom and time together.
But life changed in a way neither of them expected.
Ian was diagnosed with cancer, and later, Alzheimer’s became part of their story too. What had once been a shared retirement dream became a full-time caring role for Ellen at home. She was navigating the emotional weight of Ian’s illness, the challenges of Alzheimer’s, and the isolation of COVID, all while trying to keep him safe, comfortable and cared for.
“It went from retirement, motor home to full-time care,” Ellen shared.
During that time, Peninsula Home Hospice became part of their support network. Ian was receiving care through the service, but it was the arrival of volunteers Albert and Scott that brought something deeply personal into their home.
Ian & Ellen, early retirement
At first, Ian was unsure.
Like many people, he didn’t think he needed extra help. Ellen remembered him saying he wasn’t a baby and didn’t need anyone coming in. But Albert had a way of connecting with him. He found common ground, took the time to understand him, and slowly won Ian’s trust.
That connection mattered.
The volunteers didn’t simply arrive to complete a task. They got to know Ian. They took him out. They gave him companionship, conversation and time away from the intensity of illness. They also gave Ellen something just as important — space to breathe.
For Ellen, who had been caring around the clock, their visits became something she looked forward to.
“The volunteers that came into my house… they rescued us,” she said.
The relationship grew into something far more meaningful than Ellen had expected. Albert and Scott became trusted, familiar faces. They saw Ian as a person, not just a patient. They understood that behind every diagnosis is a life, a personality, a history, and a family doing their best to hold everything together.
“You just form this lovely relationship with them,” Ellen said. “A good volunteer will form a really good relationship with the client and the carer.”
That is the quiet power of palliative care volunteering.
It is not always loud or visible. It can look like a conversation. A drive. A cup of tea. A few hours of companionship. A familiar face at the door. Someone who knows how to gently build trust at a time when everything feels uncertain.
For Ian, it meant connection.
For Ellen, it meant support.
Ellen & Ian after they moved to the Mornington Peninsula
Find out more about our services
Our aim is to provide specialist palliative care in the home that optimises quality of life and honours the hope for comfort, choice, dignity and peace.