My life changed forever on 8th July, 2022 when Neil Offord, my husband, best friend and the love of my life lost his life to bowel cancer.  I have never known such strength, fight, positivity and determination through almost constant knock backs.  I was blown away by it and told him often how amazing I thought he was.  There are no words to describe the pain that I have felt every day since his passing. 

Neil left hospital for the final time mid June 2022 under palliative care, and chose to spend the time he had left at home with his family. In the last two weeks of his life, the pain became such that he required opioid injections at least every two hours, twenty four hours a day. Neither of us slept. While I had been trained to care for him medically, these injections could only be administered by registered nurses.  The district nurses were covering a large area and always got to Neil as quickly as they could as they all knew him,  but through no fault of theirs he was often left in excruciating pain while he waited. 

I will never forget the day Marie Curie called to say that we had been allocated a registered nurse that night. I burst into tears. We were blessed with Marie Curie nurses most nights in Neil’s final week of life, and they were nothing short of incredible. They tended to him throughout the night, allowing him to have pain relief as soon as he needed it and allowing me to remain by his side but get some sleep. Having them there also gave him the peace of mind to relax and get some sleep himself. I don’t quite know how to put into words the difference it made to his final days. They were a blessing to us both. It really was like being looked after by angels. 

It is for this reason than I want to give just a little something back to the charity that allowed Neil to have a peaceful final few days at home and pass pain free, where he wanted to be. I have never run further than 3 miles before, but am training for this and hope to run the whole distance without stopping or walking for this incredible charity. 

A little about the sponsorship below:

On April 2nd 2023, our incredible #TeamMarieCurie runners will be taking to the streets of London and running 13.1 miles in aid of Marie Curie. All the money that is raised helps Marie Curie Nurses provide vital care and support to people with terminal illness, and their families at the toughest time. £20 pays for one hour of vital nursing care at home for someone living with a terminal illness.£57 pays for an hour of clinical support from an expert nurse via our Support Line.£180 pays for a whole night of care from a Marie Curie Nurse.