Late GP’s plea leads to quilt delivery – ‘with love’

A group of keen quilters has crafted 20 quilts for Harbour Hospice North Shore in a project suggested by popular GP Heidi MacRae when she was under end-of-life care.

The keepsake quilts were presented at hospice’s Takapuna facility last month by MacRae’s mother, Christine Miller, and four other members of the sewing group she belongs to.

Each quilt took many hours to complete and all were “made with love”, said Miller, who was making her first visit back to the hospice since her daughter’s death in November last year.

The MedPlus Hauraki GP – who campaigned for New Zealanders to be provided with better access to cancer treatment and for donations to Harbour Hospice – had learned from nurses that quilt donations had dropped away during Covid and during major redevelopment at the Shea Tce site.

“And Heidi just said to me, ‘Mum, make it happen,’ ” Miller recalled.

Miller took the idea to a fellow member of Sew ‘n’ Sews, a group of quilting enthusiasts that meets monthly at a community centre in Paremoremo.

The word went out on email and other members responded, bringing in partly completed quilts and working on them or combining their handiwork.

“And there will be more to come,” Miller says.

The quilts will be given to patients in the hospice’s inpatient unit and to others being cared for at home by its multidisciplinary North Shore community team.

On the back edge of each quilt, Miller has carefully penned the words: “Made with love by the Sew ‘n’ Sews for Harbour Hospice”.

Miller said MacRae’s family had appreciated being able to visit Heidi at any time from the family home in Stanley Point.

The mother of three children, aged 23, 20 and 15, was also welcome to have her dog Perrita with her at hospice.

MacRae was housed in the inpatient unit before her death. It was completed before the rest of a $20 million upgrade that this year added more facilities for patients, whanau and staff to cope with rising demand for its services due to population growth.

Hospice said it was very grateful for the quilts, which were blessed by its volunteer services manager, Vicki Parker, at a ceremony when they were handed over.

“The nurses really enjoy getting to know their patients and choosing a quilt for them that best matches their personality,” Parker said.

“They are treasured by those who receive them and become very important to the family after their loved one has died,” she added.