I am there to make the lives of the patients and staff easier
When Bryan Baird was a young man undergoing chemotherapy at Canterbury Hospital in Kent, he couldn’t have imagined he would be back there again 30 years later working as a driver for Hope for Tomorrow’s mobile cancer care unit. Bryan is thankful that he has been free of his testicular cancer since 1987 but he says the experience has definitely helped him to feel empathy with the patients he meets on the unit.
“I don’t really talk to them about what happened to me, unless it comes up, but because I have been through chemo myself, I think it does give me an affinity with the patients and how they are feeling,” he says.
“When you are having treatment, you feel pretty rubbish so anything that helps to make the whole experience more bearable is a good thing. That’s something that is always in the back of my mind when I am working on the unit.
“The unit is a lovely calm environment, and we do our best to take as much stress out of the situation as we possibly can.
“Also, since Covid, people with a compromised immune system are much more fearful of sitting in large crowded spaces.
We provide a smaller, more intimate experience so patients tend to feel more relaxed from the start, which is obviously better for tolerating their treatment.
After he retired as a firefighter with the Kent Fire & Rescue Service, Bryan became an HGV driver and assistant on Caron, the unit named after TV presenter Gloria Hunniford’s daughter, Caron Keating, who died of breast cancer in 2004.
“My HGV licence enabled me to apply for the job,” says Bryan who is now in his eleventh year driving for the charity.
He is based at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the unit visits Folkestone, Dover and Herne Bay. Bryan was a full-time driver until last year when he dropped back to working part-time and he now drives the unit two days a week and covers holidays for the main driver. Although at 67 he is now past retirement age, Bryan didn’t want to stop working completely. However, after losing his best friend to cancer last year Bryan says his outlook on life changed considerably. He realised he was finding it hard to fit in some memory-making life experiences while working full-time.
So, he has scaled back his workdays to allow him to travel more. He has several rock concerts and festivals lined up this year and is also part of a charitable motorbike touring group. His passion for motorbikes, good food and wild swimming means Bryan is never short of things to talk about with the patients attending the unit.
“Everyone who knows me says I am a big chatterbox. And because I have loads of interests it means I can always find some common ground with the patients,” says Bryan.
Prior to his 33 years as a firefighter he was employed as a scientific glass blower, making laboratory equipment. He has also been a recreational wreck diver and spent two years working in fire and rescue in the Channel Tunnel.
I feel I have been to the university of life, and I am never stuck for words
“I own two Siberian Huskies, a German Shepherd, ten chickens and a Siamese cat that could moan for England,” so I can always strike up a conversation about something in my life.
“No one wants to dwell on their illness all the time so it’s good to be able to chat about other things, but I am also mindful that not everyone wants to talk all the time and that’s ok.
“Sometimes I just sit and hold their hand, or I let them vent if that’s what they want to do. If people live alone, they often won’t have anyone to talk to or get things off their chest, so I am happy to fulfil that role.”
Bryan sees the job as so much more than driving.
Bryan collecting a cheque on behalf of Hope for Tomorrow from members of the Dover Inner Wheel Club
He says:” I am there to make the lives of the patients and staff easier, whether that’s making cups of tea or just listening. I have learned to judge when it’s appropriate to be a little light-hearted and when to stay quiet. “Everyone is different, and they cope with things in their own way. I think working as part of a team in the fire service was a good experience for dealing with difficult situations.
“I do build up a rapport with the patients and it is sad when we lose people, but the positives of the job far outweigh any negatives.
“Working on the unit is very rewarding. I love my job and I love helping people. If I didn’t think I was making a difference I would hang up my boots, but I don’t feel that way yet. I enjoy going to work. It’s a fantastic service that the unit provides and it’s very uplifting being a part of it.”
Bryan swims most days in the sea close to his home near Margate. It’s a routine that he views almost as an homage to a former patient.
“She was well into her 80’s and used to swim every day in the sea come rain or shine and before she died, I made a promise to her that I would continue to swim every day when I can,” he says.
And he adds: “I know she is looking down, checking up on me so I have to keep doing it for her.”
I am there to make the lives of the patients and staff easier
When Bryan Baird was young man undergoing chemotherapy at Canterbury Hospital in Kent, he couldn’t have imagined he would be back there again 30 years later working as a driver for Hope for Tomorrow’s mobile cancer care unit. Bryan is thankful that he has been free of his testicular cancer since 1987 but he says the experience has definitely helped him to feel empathy with the patients he meets on the mobile cancer care unit.
“I don’t really talk to them about what happened to me, unless it comes up, but because I have been through chemo myself, I think it does give me an affinity with the patients and how they are feeling,” he says.
“When you are having treatment, you feel pretty rubbish so anything that helps to make the whole experience more bearable is a good thing. That’s something that is always in the back of my mind when I am working on the unit.
“The unit is a lovely calm environment, and we do our best to take as much stress out of the situation as we possibly can.
“Also, since Covid, people with a compromised immune system are much more fearful of sitting in large crowded spaces.
We provide a smaller, more intimate experience so patients tend to feel more relaxed from the start, which is obviously better for tolerating their treatment.
After he retired as a firefighter with the Kent Fire & Rescue Service, Bryan became an HGV driver and assistant on Caron, the unit named after TV presenter Gloria Hunniford’s daughter, Caron Keating, who died of breast cancer in 2004.
“My HGV licence enabled me to apply for the job,” says Bryan who is now in his eleventh year driving for the charity.
He is based at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the unit visits Folkestone, Dover and Herne Bay. Bryan was a full-time driver until last year when he dropped back to working part-time and he now drives the unit two days a week and covers holidays for the main driver. Although at 67 he is now past retirement age, Bryan didn’t want to stop working completely. However, after losing his best friend to cancer last year Bryan says his outlook on life changed considerably. He realised he was finding it hard to fit in some memory-making life experiences while working full-time,
So, he has scaled back his workdays to allow him to travel more. He has several rock concerts and festivals lined up this year and is also part of a charitable motorbike touring group. His passion for motorbikes, good food and wild swimming means Bryan is never short of things to talk about with the patients attending the unit.
“Everyone who knows me says I am a big chatterbox. And because I have loads of interests it means I can always find some common ground with the patients,” says Bryan.
Prior to his 33 years as a firefighter he was employed as a scientific glass blower, making laboratory equipment. He has also been a recreational wreck diver and spent two years working in fire and rescue in the Channel Tunnel.
I feel I have been to the university of life, and I am never stuck for words
“I own two Siberian Huskies, a German Shepherd, ten chickens and a Siamese cat that could moan for England,” so I can always strike up a conversation about something in my life.
“No one wants to dwell on their illness all the time so it’s good to be able to chat about other things, but I am also mindful that not everyone wants to talk all the time and that’s ok.
“Sometimes I just sit and hold their hand, or I let them vent if that’s what they want to do. If people live alone, they often won’t have anyone to talk to or get things off their chest, so I am happy to fulfil that role.”
Bryan sees the job as so much more than driving.
Bryan collecting a cheque on behalf of Hope for Tomorrow from members of the Dover Inner Wheel Club
He says:” I am there to make the lives of the patients and staff easier, whether that’s making cups of tea or just listening. I have learned to judge when it’s appropriate to be a little light-hearted and when to stay quiet. “Everyone is different, and they cope with things in their own way. I think working as part of a team in the fire service was a good experience for dealing with difficult situations.
“I do build up a rapport with the patients and it is sad when we lose people, but the positives of the job far outweigh any negatives.
“Working on the unit is very rewarding. I love my job and I love helping people. If I didn’t think I was making a difference I would hang up my boots, but I don’t feel that way yet. I enjoy going to work. It’s a fantastic service that the unit provides and it’s very uplifting being a part of it.”
Bryan swims most days in the sea close to his home near Margate. It’s a routine that he views almost as an homage to a former patient.
“She was well into her 80’s and used to swim every day in the sea come rain or shine and before she died, I made a promise to her that I would continue to swim every day when I can,” he says.
And he adds: “I know she is looking down, checking up on me so I have to keep doing it for her.”
