Thursday 24th March 2022
“My Mum, Susan Laing, spent her last few weeks of life at St Cuthbert’s Hospice in March 2016 following a cancer diagnosis in 2015. She died surrounded by family and in the excellent care of the amazing staff.
She was a caring and loving wife, mother, sister and daughter. She took such pride in her job as a primary school teacher, especially working at Castleside Primary School. She enjoyed tennis and badminton and encouraged both myself and three brothers to be involved in sport from a young age. Mum taught us to go for every opportunity, live life to its fullest and always smile. I have fond memories of family holidays and adventures we went on.
Everyone at St Cuthbert’s played a huge role in caring for not only my Mum but our family as a whole. The support, love, and care we received was fantastic. They made sure that Mum’s final weeks were filled with laughter and memories that will stay with us for a lifetime. These moments helped us to see the light during the darkest of days and the Hospice felt like a home from home. After my Mum died I wanted to give something back to the Hospice so started my fundraising journey.
I have completed the Colour Run in 2016 and 2017, The Great North Run in 2018, and last year I took on the 4x4x24 running challenge – running 4km every 4hours for 24 hours. My total fundraising amount for the hospice is now over £8,000. I completed the 4x4x24 challenge with my best friend Giorgia, in memory of my Mum. We had so much fun and kept a smile on our faces even through the tiredness and still to this day we have both said we would complete this challenge again.
We decided to Pay for a Day of care in memory of Mum on the 24th March. This is the anniversary of my Mum’s death. It means that on this day we can remember my mum in a special way and know that we are helping another family like mine receive the same fantastic care we did.”
