In November 2012 our lives changed forever when my mum was diagnosed with lung cancer. She agreed to take part in a revolutionary trials treatment for lung cancer. This to me was a measure of how brave she was. She was well for a while until she received her second diagnosis in September 2015. This completely rocked our world as we were told that it was incurable. Again she went on the hamster wheel (as she called it) that is cancer and started her treatment all over again. Throughout all of this, my mum never complained or moaned or said 'why me?'. She faced it all head on and lived for each day and never let her illness define who she was. My mum embraced life and loved and lived and she was an example of strength, endurance and dignity and a shining example to us all.

At this time, Marie Curie hospice in Woolton, Liverpool, became engrained in our hearts forever. Initially, my mum was visiting the day unit and received holistic support and complimentary therapies. As mum's health deteriorated, she became a full time patient there in November 2016 and remained there until her passing 7 weeks later. During her stay, the staff at Marie Curie worked tirelessly to try to get mum home and they never gave up on her or us.

My family and I will never be able to repay the staff at Marie Curie for the care that they gave my mum and still continue to give my Dad and I, but by swimming for Marie Curie, myself and my three little mates (Laura Penny age 11, Sophie Brennan age 8 and Jack Dempsey age 7), our family would hope that we can help others to receive this support through a terminal illness.

Any support that you give us would help my family and I say thank you to this amazing place and to continue to help others to fight on.