In December 2014, my family and I experienced first-hand the work of Douglas House. After battling with lung infections and declining health related to cystic fibrosis, my husband Robin was referred to Douglas House from hospital in the final days of his life. Comfort and emotional understanding was finally available to him and his closest family. The staff at Douglas House had the practical and emotional expertise related to terminal illness that we needed and we were able to stay at Robin’s side without the stress and discomfort of a hospital environment. Most importantly, Robin and I were able to do what we had been planning for many months, exchange our wedding vows. We did so on the morning of the 16^th December. The staff at Douglas House supplied a beautiful wedding as if from thin air; fresh lilies, a red carpet, warm hospitality for our guests, and of course a wedding cake. I was by Robin’s side as his wife, along with our new extended family, when he peacefully passed away the following morning.

Douglas House arranged the best day of my life. As I say to people, I owe them a wedding! Every time I see a collecting box, I empty my purse, but I have known for a while that I wanted to do something bigger, something significant that would change my life and hopefully bring with it further acceptance of what happened. Robin conquered many mountains in his lifetime. Despite doing some exams in hospital, he got 5 A*s at GCSE and later achieved A*A*A*AB at A level. He also realised his dream of studying at Cambridge University. In his honour, I’m setting myself the challenge of conquering Kilimanjaro and raising awareness of Helen & Douglas House’s incredible work. Thank you for all your support.