A Belfast student will be pounding the city's pavements this Sunday for a cause very dear to her heart.
Jenny Wilson is running the Belfast City Marathon to raise funds for Marie Curie, who cared for her mummy at the end of her life.
Jenny, 21 and a third year medical student at Queen's University, lost her mum Karen in March 2020 in the Belfast Hospice just before lockdown.
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Karen, who was 55 and from East Belfast, had been diagnosed only a year earlier with oesophageal cancer.
Jenny told Belfast Live: "My mum was diagnosed in June 2019 with throat cancer. Her only option was surgery at the beginning of August, which was unsuccessful so from then we knew it was terminal and there were no treatment options.
"Mum initially went into the Marie Curie Hospice in Belfast for symptom control in November 2019 as she was on so many medications but still struggling. As my sister and I were very busy and in school we came up to visit her for a few hours in the evening.
"Things got really bad at the start of February, with mum being very physically weak and in awful pain. I made the decision to pull out of school and stay at the hospice with her in February to be by her side."
Jenny is full of praise for the "absolutely amazing" team at the Belfast Hospice.
She added: "When mum was in pain or having difficulties with breathing, the nurses were there in an instant. The doctors worked tirelessly every single day to ensure her medication was correct and manage her ever changing condition.
"Nobody gave up until pain or the current problem had subsided. Over the six weeks mum spent in the hospice she showed incredible strength and always smiled no matter how much pain she was in.
"She loved the staff at the hospice and was always so thankful for them. She survived far longer than anybody expected, defying odds every day.
"My dad still had to work but he and my sister would come up to visit mum as often as they could. In the last two weeks of her life, mum's older sister also stayed in the hospice."
But towards the very end of Karen's life, things changed in the hospice due to Covid.
"Visiting hours were reduced and hygiene became incredibly strict. However due to how ill mum was, dad and my sister were both still allowed to visit and the hospice team did their best to allow us to be with mum," Jenny recalled.
Karen passed away peacefully on 17th March 2020 and her funeral was due to take place on the first official day of lockdown.
Jenny said: "It was heartbreaking that we could not have any form of service and we couldn't even see our granny. The immediate family gathered with the minister in a cold empty church hall at the time of her cremation.
"This very small gathering was originally supposed to be in our house but this then wasn't allowed. We facetimed a close relative who was sitting in a car outside the church as he couldn't even come in.
"I had wanted to speak at mum's funeral. This was important to me so I had planned what I was going to say but the most I could do was say it to the family and post it on Facebook so everyone who would have been at the funeral could read it.
"It was awful, mum's best friends couldn't be there and neither could some of our closest family members. I was only 18 at the time and my sister was 14 and we weren't even able to see our best friends after mum died.
"We couldn't hug anyone except each other and dad. A few people dropped things to our house but they couldn't stay to speak to us."
She added: "We feel as though mum was never truly honoured as she should have been. She was young and full of life, always putting others first and wanting to make them smile.
"Many people knew her and were hit hard by her passing especially as this happened right at the beginning of lockdown and it has been difficult to access proper bereavement support.
"I cannot express enough how incredible the whole team at the Belfast Hospice are. Not only were they there for mum but they were there for the whole family.
"As I stayed there for so long they truly went out of their way every day to make sure I was okay and put a smile on my face, even in the middle of the night, which was often the worst time.
"They made me feel so comfortable and I grew close to a few members of staff in particular who had a major impact on me and now I actually miss them! I can't thank Marie Curie enough for what they have done for my whole family.
"Mum had a smile on her face throughout all her pain and was only ever concerned about everyone around her, especially me, my little sister and my dad.
"I miss her more than words can say but I am carrying her incredible strength and compassion towards others into running this year's Belfast Marathon, to know that money is being raised in her honour.
"I have had to overcome a few things to get to this point but mum always said I could do anything if I put my mind to it and I know she will be cheering me on."
You can donate to Jenny's fundraiser here.
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