Hospice manager nominated for Pride of Australia medal for helping families bear child’s pain

THE love shown by Narelle Martin, 53, at Manly’s Bear Cottage hospice, where heartbreak is a daily business, has seen her nominated for the prestigious medal.

IT takes someone pretty special to spend their days caring for terminally ill children, surrounded by the desperate heartbreak of families ­broken by grief.

But Bear Cottage nursing unit manager Narelle Martin does it with a smile — determined to make the sick children feel happy and at peace.

The 53-year-old mum has been at the Manly children’s hospice since its doors opened 13 years ago and has been instrumental in starting mum’s well-being boot camps, sibling grief support and family camps — anything to make the families’ journey a little bit easier.

If a silly outfit will make someone smile Ms Martin will wear it — and she raises funds for the Cottage at every opportunity.

Bear Cottage nursing unit manager Narelle Martin has been nominated for a Pride of Australia medal. Picture: Bradley Hunter

Hundreds of children will come through the doors of the hospice, and many of them don’t make it home. Incredibly, this northern beaches mum remembers every one.

“We’ve had 800 kids come through Bear Cottage over the years, and around 400 have died,” Ms Martin said.

Pride of Australia 2014- How we shine a light on NSW’s finest

Sailor David Pescud nominated for Pride of Australia Medal

“Knowing so many children who have died I want to remember each one of them for their special thing — every child and every situation is unique and that’s how they are treated and remembered.

“We almost become part of their extended family because you get to know them so well.

“Often they keep in touch even years down the track.

“We’ve been here for them at the most difficult times, so we really do understand the difficult times they’ve gone through.”

Ms Martin, who has been nominated for The Daily Telegraph’s Pride of Australia Care and Compassion Medal for improving the lives of those around her, said she simply thought of her own family when developing programs for her Bear Cottage family.

“I’ve got four adult children and a grandchild due in two weeks so I’ve always thought about my family when I came up with things for Bear Cottage,” she said.

“I remembered how important it was for my sanity to get away with my girlfriends once a year when my kids were growing up, so that’s how the mum’s camps came about — to allow these mums that opportunity to get away and connect with friends who are going through the same thing as them.

“We have sibling camps where we take them skiing once a year to get away from it all.

“We have a good family bereavement program and run health and wellbeing boot camps for mums too.

“And I used to love it when my kids got newsletters home from school so I could hear about everything that was happening, so that’s when we started our newsletters to keep our families in touch — ­anything that will improve the care and lives of our families we try and get off the ground.

“It’s a very unique facility, so everyone who works here goes above and beyond their roles — whether it be dressing up in a crazy outfit to put a smile on a child’s face, or aiming to create a happy and a fun place.”