One of the first things my Mum said post diagnosis was that she was not under any circumstances going to a hospice.

Over the 9 months between diagnosis and her death we all discussed the benefits of accessing the hospice for support, for all of us, but Mum was having none of it. Ultimately the association with death was too great to overcome in her mind.

Until the day she died, the help we as a family received to keep her at home was limited to the daily visits from the fantastic district nursing team. They without doubt were amazing, but were also limited in what they could do and how much time they could spend with us.

On Easter Sunday it was finally agreed that we would receive support from Severn Hospice. Our nurse arrived on Sunday evening and within hours Mum had passed away.

Whilst the support we received from Severn Hospice was limited, it was priceless. In our darkest hour, they were there for us, and able to guide us through the process.

Following Mum's death Dad began volunteering at Severn Hospice, and through this I was able to see all of the amazing things they offer. My biggest regret is that we were unable to convince Mum to get involved and benefit from their support in life as we benefited from their support that Easter weekend.