The idea to grow sunflowers and launch an agro-tourism business came to Scenic Rim farmers Jenny and Russell Jenner in the grip of a Queensland drought in 2021.
The now-iconic Kalbar Sunflower Festival was an instant success, but a year after launching, Russell was diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer and given 12 months to live.
Though he survived longer than his original prognosis, Russell’s last weeks were spent in a hospital bed.
“He actually lasted 19 months,” Jenny said.
“He was admitted to [Mater Hospital in Brisbane] four weeks before he passed away … [but] being a farmer living out in the country, I didn’t want him to pass away in the city.
“We managed to get him home but, unfortunately, he became extra unwell … and we ended up having to go to our local Boonah Hospital for palliative care for the last eight days.”
Jenny said she wasn’t able to give Russell the goodbye she envisaged at home on their farm.
“You know, be in a bed and give him a cuddle type thing.”
It was during his stay in palliative care that Jenny learnt of “cuddle beds” – a larger hospital bed to enable dying patients to lie beside loved ones and family members.
“Unless you’ve been through that palliative care experience, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like watching your nearest and dearest fade away,” she said.
“It’s just so important to be able to have that sense of touch and closeness.”
The couple began donating proceeds from sunflowers sold at the festival to cancer care services after Russell was diagnosed.
When he passed away, Jenny decided to raise money to buy a cuddle bed for her local hospital.
Over the past three years, she’s facilitated nine beds across south-east Queensland, the latest presented to the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane on Wednesday.
“Whether you’re 80 or eight, I think everybody deserves to die being able to lie next to the person that you love,” Jenny said.
The Children’s Health Queensland director of Paediatric Palliative Care, Associate Professor Anthony Herbert, said the custom bed, which cost $24,000, will give children the chance to share precious time with their parents, siblings and loved ones “when every moment together matters”.
“Within our palliative care service, we see how important these moments of connection are,” Herbert said.
“We care for children in a holistic way, which involves caring for the whole family, and the cuddle bed provides an added level of comfort and closeness when it matters most.”
Kerry Williams, who oversees the Children’s Hospital Foundation’s impact programs, has seen firsthand how important something like a cuddle bed can be for families during moments of loss and grief.
“I previously worked at the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation and we funded some beds there to go into the maternity space for when babies are born sleeping [still birth],” Williams said.
“It just means that the mum and dad can be there together with that little one and have that time.”
Every year, about 3700 families come through the children’s hospital with a child either in palliative care or with a life-limiting condition.
Knowing she’s making a tangible difference to the lives of palliative care patients has motivated Jenny to continue her fundraising efforts.
“[Russell] used to take sunflowers to the hospital when he had chemo treatment,” Jenny said. “He always loved … seeing the smile it put on other patients’ faces.
“Knowing that we can do something like this for so many families … that’s what gets me out of bed every morning,” she said.
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