In April 2020, my Dad died aged 74.  He had been diagnosed only a few days earlier with multiple brain tumours.

He spent 9 days in Withybush hospital and, with the help of the NHS, was able to return home and be cared for there.  He died peacefully on the first night back.  He held on long enough to be reunited at home with Kay (my step-mum), and then slipped away in his sleep.

The Paul Sartori foundation had kindly agreed to provide us with some in-home, overnight support for Dad.  One of their nurses, Sandra, was there that evening and was with him when he died.  Having her there meant that there was someone experienced to support Kay when she needed it most, and to speak to me the following morning to break the news.  That made an invaluable difference.

Losing someone important to you in a pandemic is hard - you can't say goodbye, and it's been hard to find closure.  I watched Dad's funeral on a webcast, which is something I never thought would happen.  But he died peacefully and with his dignity intact, which would have been so important to him.  I take a lot of comfort from knowing that.

Paul Sartori Hospice at Home are a small charity and, like other small charities, they need our help more than ever.  I am growing my hair until my 40th birthday in August 2022 (to coincide with their 40th anniversary) and will then have it cut off to make wigs for cancer patients.

If you can help me raise some money for them along the way, we can make sure that more families receive the support that we were luckily enough to have.  It made all the difference in the world.

Thank you.