Case Study: Becky, Lee, Bobby and Myla

We will never forget that night.

It was May 14th 2023, and we had been told that Becky’s cancer, which had only been diagnosed for a few weeks, was serious and that it was unlikely she would survive the night. We were totally devastated but we knew we had one task that had to be managed right and that was to break the news to Bobby & Myla (her two children aged 6 and 9).

How do you even begin? The children knew mummy was poorly, but they did not know any of the details, as well frankly we didn’t yet as she was still pending her final biopsy results and Becky had been very clear from the beginning that she did not want them to know until we knew exactly what we were dealing with.

The hospital told us about Windmills, and we had to make a really quick decision: do we want help breaking the news or do we try and handle it ourselves. Our initial reaction was to do it alone but thankfully we decided to accept the help.

Leeanne and Zara were at Becky’s bedside within an hour, and before we knew it, they were chatting away to the children, who took to them in a matter of seconds!

Becky, Lee, Bobby & Myla 

How they approached the subject was pretty blunt and for a while there I think we all thought what have we done, but it become very clear very quickly that it was the best way to explain everything to them, they were just words we found hard to hear but they were words the children could understand and needed to hear.

Before long Leeanne and Zara were creating memories with the children, handprints, swapping kisses on memory teddies and making clay imprints, things that we would never have thought of in a million years but things that we only had that one chance to do. Things the children can treasure forever!

Becky passed away a few hours later.

But...Windmills work was not done, they took the children to say goodbye to mummy at the funeral home, again making memories, this time footprints and covering mummy in their favourite photos and pictures! Leeanne and Zara supported Bobby and Myla at the funeral and have continued to visit them to make memories and answer all their questions since. Inviting Windmills into our lives was the hardest decision we have ever had to make but looking back it is the best one.

Becky 

What these ladies do is pure magic, and we know that Becky would be at peace knowing that the children had them there to support them…and us!