Caroline was my closest friend.  We were more like close sisters, talking to each other several times a day.  If anything was happening in my life Caroline was the first to know about it and she was always there when anything went wrong, making me feel more positive and well supported.   We talked about everything and nothing.  We had some great laughs and she did so much for me. 

If you are from Knebworth, many of you will have seen Caroline around the village at, the SOS Pub fundraising events, the YMCA Charity shop where she volunteered or the W.I. which she joined. 

Caroline was kind, caring and compassionate.  She had a career in nursing and had herself been a palliative care nurse, so knew the score when she got her terminal diagnosis. She was so stoical, proud and brave, grateful that she had time to get her affairs in order and say goodbye to her family and friends.  She was surprised that so many people offered to help her in any way they could, but determined to do as much for herself as possible, for as long as possible.  She  spent two lockdowns shielding, still managing her 10,000 steps a day in her tiny flat during the first one.  Caroline was a great role model and I am so lucky to have so many great memories of our times together, such as when we "the SOS pub lot" turned up to the pub that she was having a blind date in, pretending we didn't know her, sneaking to the toilets to see how it was going.  We had a much better time than Caroline did, until her date was over and she was able to join in the fun.  

In between lock downs Caroline, Izzy and I got into a great routine of going to each other's houses on a Saturday nights to cook dinner and watch a film.  Caroline described herself as "not much of a cook" but did a great prawn linguine that we had nearly every week and we now cook to remember her by.  We watched some good and some awful films on those Saturday's.  One of the films was so bad one night that, when my boyfriend at the time wanted to go out Caroline and Izzy jumped up encouraging me to meet him (despite their disapproval), as they coudln't wait to put an end to the film!

Caroline spent the last two weeks of her life in the Isabel Hospice, still wanting to know all the gossip when I went to visit her.  It's an absolute scandal that Hospice's remain unfunded and they rely on fundraising donations.  It just doesn't seem right and doesn't sit comfortably with me.  They provide such a great service and are so much more than just palliative care.  The cost of Caroline's care whilst she was staying at the Hospice was £9,000 which is why I have set myself that target.  It's alot isn't it?  If  people don't raise money the Hospice is at risk and all the other Caroline's of the world  (and their families and friends) would not be treated with the same consideration, compassion and care that Caroline received whilst she was there.  That's why I want to give back to the Isabel Hospice.  Caroline was there for me when I needed her and they were there for her.

I shall be doing a variety of fundraising activities to reach this target.  So far, I have put on the Knebworth scarecrow festival; have a "Halloween Scene" planned; will be organising a coffee morning and when I am properly back to running, I will be taking on some race challenges as fundraisers.  If you have any other ideas that don't involve bungee jumping or jumping out of plane let me know and i'll add them to my repetoire ;).  Thanks for your support and reading this.  Lisa

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