There’s something instantly likeable about Norman “Nobby” Scott and his wife Vicki.
They’re kind, honest, salt-of-the-earth people with five children - two from foster care - and have worked hard their whole lives. In Nobby’s case, that was as a mechanic. Starting
his career in the 1970’s - repairing cars, vans and trucks, renewing brakes and blowing out the old dust. That, of course, was long before anyone knew the grave extent of the harm asbestos - then a common feature of brakes and other vehicular parts - could inflict on the human body.
It was during a holiday in Switzerland in the 1980s, after a high ascent on a stair lift, that Nobby became terribly ill. He also began to experience serious breathing difficulties. Despite numerous doctor visits over the years, the cause remained a mystery. It wasn’t until 2022, when Nobby started losing weight, had trouble eating, and was struggling to breathe, that the diagnosis finally came—mesothelioma. A form of cancer caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos. By then, it was already too late.
The prognosis was devastating – Nobby’s condition was terminal.
It was at this stage that two charities stepped in: The London Asbestos Support Awareness Group, and our team here at ellenor. ellenor is a hospice charity that provides palliative and end-of-life care for patients with life-limiting illnesses - an umbrella which encompasses anything from cancer to long-term, chronic conditions, such as Parkinson’s Disease and Motor Neurone Disease (MND) - and supports their loved ones. ellenor’s in-patient ward is based on Coldharbour Road in Northfleet - but the majority of our care happens in patients’ own homes, throughout Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley, and beyond.
So - when we talk about support the patient and their families, what do we mean?
When Nobby was referred to us post-diagnosis, our first priority was to assess his needs and ensure he was on the right medication. He also received a 12-week course of counselling to help him process and come to terms with the diagnosis. This is part of ellenor’s commitment to holistic care that treats not only the symptoms of the condition, but the whole individual – an approach focusing not solely on the clinical nature of care, but on its social, emotional, and psychological aspects.
As for Nobby’s wife, Vicki, she is his primary carer - and it’s crucial to acknowledge, and address, the mental and physical toll his round-the-clock care takes on her.
Through our Wellbeing Team here at ellenor, Vicki is receiving complementary therapy - a form of alternative medicine that supplements the clinical care process with practices such as meditation, reflexology, and aromatherapy - and will soon be beginning her own 12-week course of counselling.
“This situation has been so traumatic for all of us, and ellenor has been absolutely brilliant throughout”, Vicky says. “They cannot do enough for me, or Nobby.”
Nobby adds, “Even taking ellenor’s care for the patient out of the equation, it’s what they do for the family. How they help the loved ones - because they’re suffering, too. Vicki’s here, for example, having to face watching her husband die, and knowing there’s nothing she can do.”
After spending several weeks on our inpatient ward here at ellenor, Nobby is now back at his home in Gravesend - where our team will continue to care for him until the end.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here now if it wasn’t for ellenor. They got me on the right track, the way they treated me: from the cleaner right through to the cooks, but most of all the doctors and nurses. They did everything - everything - they could to keep me alive and symptom-free. But most of all, they’ve given me a new lease of life - and there's no amount of money in this world that could pay for that.”
Born in Dulwich in the late 1954, Nobby is the youngest of ten children. His mother going into labour unexpectedly while accompanying her husband on a delivery job. After finishing his delivery, Nobby’s father rushed back to the hospital, only to find that Nobby had already arrived. This made him the only one of his siblings to be born south of the river, as all the others were born in the northern boroughs of London.
A staunch Arsenal and football fan Nobby was also a champion of the sport of banger racing, in which drivers compete in old, often damaged, cars. Perilous and pulse-quickening, the aim is to win a circuit around a dirt track, while avoiding collisions which are common - even encouraged - and keeping your vehicle intact.
