“Sophie was bright, kind and a determined lady, who lived life to the full and was brave in the most desperate circumstances”

Maria smiles as she talks fondly about Sophie. At the age of fourteen months, Sophie was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive ovarian Cancer.

 

In May 1998, Sophie was so poorly her treatment was stopped and Maria and her husband Andrew were told to take Sophie home and enjoy her, uncertain as to how long she had left. Sophie incredibly flourished and surpassed all expectations, she excelled in school and went onto become a teacher!

 

Sophie fell, in February 2020 and hurt her back, scans unveiled that the cancer had returned and she had a tumour on her spine. Maria recalls how the Hospice became involved in September 2020.

At first I was glad just to have a point of contact to answer all my questions, but as Sophie became more unwell we needed more support from the Hospice. Sophie really enjoyed having Complementary Therapy as it not only helped with her pain, but also helped her relax and switch off”.

 

Devastatingly Sophie passed away in hospital on 2nd November 2021. Following Sophie’s death the Hospice Family Support Team made contact with Maria offering support, and although she has not yet pursued this Maria is thankful that the team are still in contact with her should she need support at any point in the future. “ It’s still very early days since Sophie passed away and as a family we have lots of milestones to tackle and Christmas this year will be one of those”.