It’s 1am and the Rowcroft Hospice at Home nurses have just been out to see mum. There is no way I could possibly keep mum here without the support of these skilled, kind people.

The way they have tended mum but also myself is beyond measure. They have offered boundless advice, comfort, reassurance. They have kept mum comfortable in so many ways.

And now they are headed off to another family. Another family doing what I’m doing. It is strangely comforting, to know that I’m not alone. That somewhere else in this little rural area, someone is probably going through the same experiences, the same rush of emotions. I can feel so isolated at times, particularly in the wee small hours.

This dying time is as much a part of life as birth is. I ache for a time when we can rediscover ways to hold death and dying in our communities, where it is welcomed as warmly as any other threshold. For a time when we share the holding of this space.

For now though, my gratitude for this team is as boundless as their care.