In 2012, I lost the most important person in my life. You were my best friend, my confident and my biggest supporter. You were my nan. Diagnosed with a brain tumour in March and gone by May. Watching you die was the hardest thing I have ever seen and something no other family should have to witness. Prior to your death you were so full of life. A keen ballroom dancer, attending classes multiple times a week, continuing to dance even after the diagnosis, aged 81.

Mum never got over loosing you, without warning and so quickly. It was the downward spiral in what would become a significant battle with her mental health which sadly she lost in 2021, when she took the decision to join you.

Despite her own poor mental health, mum fought hard after your passing to fundraise for cancer charities, to ensure that others did not have to experience her pain. I never told mum how proud I was of the fundraising she did. This is my chance to continue mum’s good work, in your memory, doing what you loved best, ballroom dancing and dragging my ever supportive (but protesting) husband along for the ride.