Florence Nightingale Hospice for months of care for Mum.

Natalie Tosney

In February of this year, my Mum was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal brain cancer and was given 18 months to 2 years to live which was a huge shock to our family. Following the diagnosis, Mum had a craniotomy to remove as much of the tumour as possible before starting chemotherapy and radiotherapy in hopes of slowing the growth of the cancer as much as possible during the months of April and May.

After an MRI scan, we were further devastated when we learnt that the therapy had done very little to slow down the progress of tumour and Mum's estimated lifespan was reduced to 6 months.

Not long after, Mum was admitted to Stoke Mandeville for 2 weeks in June following a fall she had at home. It was after this visit where the Florence Nightingale Hospice (FNH) carers began making daily visits to help me look after Mum. Not only were they very helpful, but every carer who came was friendly and all of them loved Mum. At the beginning, the care was focused on helping Mum be happy as she always loved to be glamorous. When Mum's condition began to deteriorate in July after having multiple seizures during the evening of my graduation, the FNH carers and nurses kept Mum comfortable with medication, especially during the night when Mum would be in pain and struggle to sleep.

At the start of August, Mum was transferred to the FNH in Stoke Mandeville. During her final weeks, the FNH made sure Mum was comfortable and not in pain. She spent much of these weeks asleep but she was at peace, up until Sunday the 25th of August where she passed away peacefully after a nearly 7 month battle with this horrifying cancer.

I understand this was a very detailed description of Mum's care. This was not intended to make anyone uncomfortable but just wanted to show how much Mum went through the past 6 months and how incredibly brave she was.

The money raised from this fundraiser is our family's way of showing appreciation for the months of support the FNH gave Mum during this time and I hope everyone reading this remembers Mum before her diagnosis. Mum was the most amazing and beautiful person who would help me and Luca no matter the situation. She charmed everyone who knew her with her kindness and she loved to bake and cook, being a master at hosting events. Even in her final letter to me and Luca, Mum insisted that we and everyone remember her for who she was before the diagnosis and I hope this final paragraph resurfaces old memories of Mum, especially if they make you laugh or smile.

Even during this difficult time, Mum still managed to make herself shine through her personality. The difficulty of speaking didn't stop her from gossiping over coffee or preventing her love for cafes and shopping. One extremely memorable moment for me and Luca was just before her surgery in March, she was asked to name as many animals as she could. After a 15 second silence, Mum could only state "caterpillar". We all had a long laugh together as it was an odd choice and also contains "cat".

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Cristiano