My father died of liver cancer in 2015 and his prior wishes were to stay at home and not go to hospital or a hospice. His death was all very quick (he died within 2 months of becoming ill) and my sister and I cared for him at home. Although my sister had experience of working in care homes and hospices I certainly hadn't and it was quite overwhelming and very difficult at times. To watch someone you love deteriorate so quickly is hard to handle, and when their mind goes and they can't even recognise you that's heartbreaking. Thankfully we had the help of the local health workers on a daily basis, and the local hospice who provided home care. I don't know about you but I didn't realise they provided home care, but I'm so grateful that they do. I also didn't realise the hospice relies totally on donations.

John Taylor Hospice provides specialist palliative and end of life care for people in Birmingham and across the West Midlands. Both at the hospice in Erdington and in the local community, care is ‘Taylor-made’ to the individual ensuring people receive support how, where and when they need it.Today more than 600 people and their families will receive the care they need from John Taylor teams. John Taylor Hospice’s staff and volunteers are totally dedicated to making every moment matter for everyone they care for.

So, to help raise some money for them as a "thank you", I'm going to run the Chester half marathon in May. I've not run this distance before - although last year I lost 2 stone and ran two 10Ks in September and October - so I'm sure I can do it!

I make no apologies for asking for donations so early. Many of you may be doing "dry January", and it would be great if any of you doing that could perhaps donate some of the money they save from not drinking to the hospice. My dad died as a result of a lifetime of drinking, so if this makes you think about cutting back on your alcohol consumption then that's also a great thing.