Hi my name is Helen Lambe, 13 years ago I lost my wonderful husband Cianan after a short battle with cancer. He was just 48 years old and our son was only 1.

Cianan spent the last 5 weeks of his life in the loving care of Kildare/West Wicklow Hospice where he felt very safe and cared for. I stayed in the hospice with Cianan every night to be there for him whenever he needed me. But Cianan was in a narrow hospital bed and the cancer was in his bones, so we could never snuggle in beside him. I was given a mat on the ground which was comfortable but meant we couldn't lie side by side, hold hands or cuddle. I remember night after night lying on the ground, looking up at the bed trying to hold his hand thinking there must be a better way.

Cuddle beds didn't exist 13 years ago but they do now and they provide families with that physical connection when it matters most. They bring closeness, intimacy and love at a time when words often aren’t enough. Allowing couples to snuggle, parents to cuddle their sick children, and adult children to hold their dying parents.

This fundraiser in Cianan's honour is to raise funds to donate a cuddle bed to our local Kildare/West Wickow hospice and give people at the end of their life the opportunity to be held and connected to the people who love them most.

Thank you for your support to the communities of Kildare/West Wicklow.