Grief makes us do the most ridiculous things. 

Mine has decided that I should run 26.2 miles through London in October, raising money for the brilliant hospice who cared for mum (and all of us) during her illness - and for her as a patient in her last couple of weeks. We could not have asked for kinder, more patient-centred and thoughtful care - and, as with all such things, that care was only possible because of the generosity of those who had been there before us and raised the money to keep this invaluable service going. 

So now it's my turn to raise as much money as I can, to help make sure that the hospice is there for unknown families in the years ahead, coping with the hardest days of their lives. I swear that the people who work there are made of something different - something special; and I know how lucky we are that Princess Alice Hospice exists, and that they had the space to take mum in when she needed to be there.

Until I was in this situation, I'd not given a lot of thought to hospice care and the vital role that hospices play to families like ours. It wasn't just mum who was supported by the nurses, doctors and health care assistants - it was all of us. They seemed to know instinctively what we needed to know - what question we were really asking - and the small acts of kindness and care made such a difference to us all. It seems impossible that hospices are largely not funded by the taxpayer - with less than a quarter of its income coming from CCGs, Princess Alice Hospice has to raise millions of pounds each year to keep going.

So I will run for them ... and I will do every training mile and every step on the day thinking about my brilliant, beautiful, generous, kind, loving, clever and witty mum. She was the best and the brightest, and my life is so sad right now, missing her. When I ran the London Marathon five years ago (yes, you're right - I don't learn), she was right there with my family at multiple points along the way, wearing a ridiculous t-shirt and a broad grin. I know I'm going to be looking for her at every turn in the route this October but equally, I feel she'll be there - in my head - encouraging me as she always has.

And if I'm going to run, I'm going to ask you all to support me on this ridiculous journey. Please do give if you can - whatever you can spare, will be of immense value to people who really really need it. And if you can't afford to donate, send me a message with your favourite running track, or come along on 2nd October and cheer. Just like she did.

Thank you. 

And thank you mum - I love you so much. 

Nina x

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