Tom came up with the idea of doing something special to celebrate Mum and raise money for charity in her honour, we want to make her proud and we know she would love this event!

A group of us, including Pip, Sally, Rachael and Tom, will be walking from Rennington to Peebles Hydro, a walk that starts and finishes at her two favourite places "Home from Home".

The walk will be about 80 miles over 4 days...

HospiceCare North Northumberland is our chosen charity.

The team of "Hospice Support Workers" who supported Mum, and us, in her final weeks were amazing, providing invaluable support, professional in everything they did, every conversation they had, but with a sensitivity that makes a real difference to people like us, living in trauma.

Mum was brave and proud right to her last day with us, and that meant she was not an easy patient, she was defiant about the support that she would NOT have, no aids were welcome in her home, everything despatched, with the force of Mazza behind it, straight to the outhouse. So, the team were somewhat limited in some of the practical support that they would normally offer.

But, what they were not allowed to do practically for Mum, they more than made up for in other ways, Mum took relief in talking with them at her beloved kitchen table, there were tears and laughter at the table, just as there has been at Mazza's kitchen table for many years. They were patient, kind, understanding, honest and reassuring, not just to Mum but to all of us in our family.

Along with Mum's wonderful GP, the team enabled Mum to have her medication at home, so most importantly, the support we were given as a family, allowed Mum to stay at her much loved home, surrounded by her family and as much "normal" as could be possible at such a time.

We don't think of the people that helped us as a "Team of Support Workers", they became our friends in need.

"HospiceCare delivers person-centered Hospice at Home service across North Northumberland, offering practical and emotional care and support to adults aged 18 years and over, who are living with a terminal illness, requiring palliative input. Care is provided within a person’s home by our specially trained nursing team & healthcare assistants 365 days a year, day or night. Each year HospiceCare needs to raise over £850,000 and receive just 5% from the NHS - the rest we have to find from community fundraising, donations, and legacies."

https://www.hospicecare-nn.org.uk/