In Loving Memory of Sharon Skinner

I'm Rachel, Sharon's daughter. As many of those who were close to mum know, she's been going through an extensive cancer journey for a number of years now. The latest treatment, CAR-T Cell therapy, which we hoped would buy her a bit more time, hasn't worked and we've moved her into palliative care.

I spent Christmas in Melbourne with her, where she declined quickly on the 20th and was readmitted to hospital. The cancer had progressed quickly despite treatments, and fluid was building up in her chest surrounding her heart, making it difficult for her to breathe. 3L of fluid was drained from around her heart and a PET scan confirmed the cancer was now in the lining of her heart. We were in the end game.

The Haematology and Cardiology teams called for a family meeting on 23rd. We knew it meant bad news because normally it’s a ‘one visitor per patient’ kind of deal at the hospital, but they let me bring my partner (we’d snuck her in the day before so they could finally meet for the first time). Days, maybe weeks. That was the prognosis. So, they let us have her last Christmas out of the hospital, with us, and my cat, Toby, as a surprise. We sat around the coffee table with cheese, dips, meats, biscuits and chocolate, and chatted while a voice recorder captured the last hours I’d have with her.

She was readmitted to hospital on Boxing Day, because symptoms reappeared, and later sent home for home-based palliative care, while we made the journey back to Canberra. She declined further and was readmitted to the local hospital a couple of days ago, where she'll be staying for the remainder of her time, so they can keep her comfortable. They're looking after her, and she's not feeling any pain.

We’ve been surviving on credit cards and donations, but once again we are forced to ask for help, as much as we hate doing it.

Donations, however small, are appreciated more than I can express.