A mum is facing her first Mother's Day without her daughter but her family will undertake a number of activities in her memory.
Nikki Gray, from Widnes, was a children's ICU nurse at Alder Hey. She died at the age of 53 in December 2022, after a number of cancer diagnoses.
Nikki was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, while she was working in ICU at Manchester Children’s Hospital. She had been in remission but was diagnosed again some years later - this time with ovarian cancer.
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Repeated chemotherapy meant she was able to enter remission for a second time. As a two-time cancer survivor, Nikki would have been able to isolate and not work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, she chose to continue her work at Alder Hey.
Though Nikki thought she was in remission, her cancer returned in December 2020 and it was inoperable. She had to move in with mum Carole Turner due to ailing health.
In 2021, Nikki told the ECHO of her plans to buy a camper van and see as much of Great Britain as possible, which she was able to do with the proceeds of the sale of her home in Wavertree. The camper van made a number of trips up and down Britain before Nikki was moved into a Marie Curie Hospice.
Carole, 78, is now facing her first Mother's Day without her daughter. She said the loss has left her with an “empty feeling inside and a constant ache in my heart”.
Carole, who now lives in Huyton, told the ECHO: "The world is not as good a place without Nikki, she was so thoughtful and kind. She was a really lovely person."
"Nikki was stoic, kind, selfless, never complaining. She was a great advocate for telling women to be aware of their health, and of ovarian cancer."
Nikki's family now plan to mark her life with a number of activities. After Nikki's death, Carole found a bucket list in her papers - her friends and family will now undertake activities on the list in her memory.
Carole's grandson Bobby Turner, who lives in America, will be doing a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon to begin to cross off her list. The bucket list also includes climbing Ben Nevis, which the family will tick off later this year, zipwires and cruises.
About the list, Carole said: "It makes dealing with it better. She wouldn’t want anyone to be sad, she wanted people to keep living their lives."
Yesterday (March 18), Carole and her friends and family took part in a Marie Curie bucket collection at Central Station for the charity's Great Daffodil Appeal. Carole said they wanted to thank Marie Curie for the care they took of Nikki and wanted to ensure that care is available to anyone who needs it.
Carole will spend Mother's Day with her family. She said: "My son’s very very close to me, he’ll be around. I won’t be on my own."
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