For the first time in over 20 years, I will be running a half marathon. It’s a long way for me to run, but I am doing this in Brighton on 1 March to raise funds memory of my dear late wife Maria who passed away last year at the tender age of just 40 years.

Maria had been on palliative care at home for nine months while she battled against multiple brain tumours and other cancers. She had fought bravely through multiple surgeries since she was a child, but despite intolerable pain and other awful symptoms, she never complained. She was extraordinarily beautiful on the inside and out. There never was a gentler or more caring person. We loved each other deeply.

Thanks to the support of the Martlets “hospice at home” team, Maria was able to stay at home with me throughout this difficult period, and until the very end.