Mary was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in September 2020 and given 1 year to live. We were all devastated, however, Mary accepted her diagnoses with a positive attitude and never once complained or spoke a bad word about her condition. She continued like always, to look after everyone else and made sure everyone was okay with a smile on her face.

She started going on walks three times a day and doing everything she could to fight her condition. However, in February 2021 Mary's condition worsened and she was admitted to hospital for a week. On her birthday the 11th February 2021, the doctors told Mary and our family that the chemotherapy treatments had not worked and there was nothing more that they could do for her.

This was heartbreaking for us all but Mary still faced up to it without a word of complaint, focussing on enjoying every day she had and trying her best to prepare all of us for what was to come.

Her care was then passed onto St Peter's Hospice. The regular phone calls from the incredibly kind and caring community nurses provided Mary with the support to help her adjust to the way that her life was changing. 

On Tuesday 6th April, Mary's condition deteriorated again and she was admitted to St Peter's Hospice in Brentry. Mary had always said from the start that if it was possible, she would like to spend her final days there. 

St Peter's Hospice only has 10 beds available for the whole of the city of Bristol so we were all blessed to get a space there. The staff were welcoming and caring from the moment she arrived. The compassion and love that they showed Mary was incredible and they did everything in their power to make her as comfortable and happy as possible and the one word Mary continued to whisper, even when her voice was very weak, was "beautiful".

Mary passed away peacefully at around 7am on Tuesday the 13th April, surrounded by her loving family.

She touched the hearts and lives of so many people. Her kind nature among so many other qualities made her the most incredible sister, mother and wife.

Mary worked for the NHS for over 20 years and in many different areas including Midwifery, Coronary Care, Education and Training. She really loved her work and was totally dedicated to caring for people, making people happy and making a difference to patients lives. She gave absolutely everything of herself to her patients and students. She was overflowing with compassion for everyone but never wanted any praise.

We are eternally grateful for the care and compassion that the staff at St Peter’s Hospice provided Mary. We know that as a charity and not a government funded organisation, they rely upon the donations of members of the public in order to provide this care to patients. We would love to be able to contribute to helping them to give the care that they gave Mary to other patients and it is for this reason that we are trying to raise some money for St Peter’s Hospice.

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