“Jan and I met on 31st March 1987 and were soulmates from then until she died on 9 October 2020.
We shared everything and she was a loving and caring parent to my Son Craig who was 6 years old when we met.
She loved her family and friends.
Loved life in general.
We both loved travel and shared many special holidays with friends who owned a villa in Portugal. We toured Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast. Making many treasured and happy memories.
Craig married and grandchildren Luca and Erin came along and Jan loved them dearly. They lived in Derby but had a home with us and stayed with us regularly alternatively we visited them making more treasured memories.
She was working for Marconi Radar when we met and after redundancy worked for Joyce Loebel in Gateshead.She wasn’t happy so joined the police force which she loved.
She was a valued and trusted member of each team she worked in but found her niche when she joined the surveillance team which led to her employment with the then Serious and Organised Crime Agency where she worked as an intelligence officer.
Which she continued to do when the unit was renamed to the National Crime Agency.
She was a highly respected member of the team not just for her dedication and total commitment to the job but also to her colleagues.
The same colleagues who have supported Jan and I throughout the period after her injury in 2014 and again throughout her battle with Leiomyosarcoma of the Uterus. A very rare and aggressive cancer.
She was injured in September 2014 while walking home from work when we were both waiting at a traffic light to cross the road.
A large articulated lorry mounted the curb lifted out the traffic light post which flew into the air and landed on Jan.
She had many injuries the worst of which was a severed spinal column and was left paralysed from the chest down.
We were fortunate to have a great team around us and the lovely Andrea our Macmillan nurse was at hand to arrange a stay at St Cuthbert’s Hospice. I was allowed to stay with her to continue to care for all her personal needs. That said it would never have worked if we had been separated as we came as a team.
I left work and Jan retired early to rebuild our lives and get the most out of her injured body we could.
We’d always intended to marry but life got in the way but it was now really important to us both that we did.
We married 29th November 2014 with Jan still rehabilitating in The James Cook Spinal Unit in Middlesbrough Hospital.
Friends and our Son helped organise the day which was a small intimate affair as was necessary at the time.
Our friends arranged a lunch afterwards at what became our favourite Italian restaurant in Yarm called Cena.
Courageous Jan never looked back and with grit and determination got mobile very quickly. We had a different life a new life but we were still so grateful to be together to enjoy life again.
Enjoy it we did. Continuing to travel abroad and meet lovely very special people.
Our home was sold and we sourced a new one which we threw ourselves into designing the adaptations necessary to give Jan as much independence as possible.
We moved in October 2017 and Jan loved it our little piece of paradise. It was a converted farm building overlooking farmland. Jan especially was a nature lover and got great pleasure looking out at the fields full of Highland cattle and Alpacas.
We sourced lots of equipment to enable fun outings and a gym to work out in but Jan’s adapted van gave her a new lease of life and we spent many weekends staying in lovely hotels and visiting friends.
The staff could not have cared for both of us any better and we felt so fortunate to be allowed a long term stay as Jan got weaker and weaker.
Unfortunately Jan was diagnosed with a rare cancer after undergoing a hysterectomy in Feb 2019.
Positivity we could do.
She had 2 lots of chemotherapy and a trial gene therapy drug but nothing worked. After those treatments the sarcoma was still growing and Jan became weaker daily.
We were fortunate to have a great team around us and the lovely Andrea our Macmillan nurse was at hand to arrange a stay at St Cuthbert’s Hospice. I was allowed to stay with her to continue to care for all her personal needs. That said it would never have worked if we had been separated as we came as a team.
The staff could not have cared for both of us any better and we felt so fortunate to be allowed a long term stay as Jan got weaker and weaker.
She always had a smile for everyone and never complained. She joked with the staff and loved to hear of their ‘antics’ when they had their days off.
She dealt with her cancer as she dealt with her injury with courage dignity and grace.
She loved and was loved like no other.
A beautiful warm generous and very brave lady.”
On 31st March 2021, for twenty four whole hours, our In-Patient Unit costs were donated in loving memory of Jan Hopper with a ‘Pay for a Day’ donation. We are extremely grateful for this special donation and to Jan’s wife for kindly sharing these words with us.
