Marie Curie and Me

In 2026, I have been lucky enough to be offered a charity place for the TCS London Marathon for Marie Curie.

When my mum entered the final stages of myeloma, kerrie, a nurse from Marie Curie appeared in our lives like a guardian angel. I don’t know who put them in touch with us or how it was arranged, all I know is that when we needed someone, she was there. 

She stayed with my mum through the nights and was as present or invisible as we needed her to be. My memories of the time as a whole are sketchy, but I remember her as a calm, kind presence. I coped with these last days as I did the whole rest of her illness, by acting like it wasn’t happening. There were no meaningful goodbyes. There was nothing like you see in the films. There was just me going about my days, passing the hours, while my mum was dying in a hospital bed in the living room. 

I will never not feel guilty and full of regret about this but one thing I am truly grateful for is Kerrie. She was by my mums side as she died and just knowing mum was not on her own gives me a lot of comfort. 

Even over 10 years on, sometimes it feels like it was yesterday and I will be forever grateful for the support we were given by Marie Curie. 

Every five minutes, someone dies without the end of life care they need. 

Marie Curie wants to fix that, and so do I. 

My race is on, I'm running to support the nurses, to reach that finish line.

Whatever the illness, Marie Curie is with you to the end.

It's several years since I've run any distance and I generally never run without dogs now so the marathon is a huge challenge! But one I am determined to smash for Marie Curie