Tributes have been paid to a “bubbly” Darlington grandmother who sadly died following a battle with terminal liver failure - just months after beating cancer.
Carole Hancock sadly passed away on August 17 this year, just two weeks before her and husband Simon Davidson’s first wedding anniversary.
The “outgoing” 64-year-old was “so well thought of” by her friends and family, who were left devastated by her death.
Mother-of-two Carole spent her final weeks at St Teresa’s Hospice in Darlington, where those closest to her were “blown away” by the support.
So much so that her family and friends have organised a fundraiser to support the hospice on October 20 at a toy, train and craft fair at Cockerton Band and Music Institute in Darlington.
“Carole was so well thought of,” Simon, who is originally from Ashington, in Northumberland, said. “She was bubbly, outgoing, and would take no nonsense!
“She had a sarcastic sense of humour and loads of friends - she even kept in touch with people from her old school days.”
Carole, a lifelong Darlington resident, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma shortly after the Covid pandemic when she found a lump in her neck.
She received treatment every three weeks on six to eight occasions, and was in and out of hospital - but it didn’t stop the loving couple, who had been together for more than 20 years, from tying the knot.
Carole was able to leave the hospital for the day to get married on September 2, 2023, having had to postpone the wedding on several occasions.
Darlington Memorial Hospital staff even threw her a makeshift hen party in the hospital.
“It was a great day,” Simon, 57, recalled. “We had loads of friends come up from down South and lots of other people came too.”
After treatment, Carole received the fantastic news that she had beaten cancer and was given the all-clear by doctors.
However, around one month after being told she no longer had cancer, she was tragically diagnosed with terminal liver failure.
The diagnosis came after Carole, a former shop manager, was constantly “going in and out of hospital” for reasons unknown.
Simon continued: “All the treatments were given for one issue, that would go, but then another issue would come back.
“I spoke to Carole as it seemed they couldn’t really keep on top of them so something had to be done. They said it was either stay in hospital or get into a hospice.
“It was a shock to hear there was not much they could do, and nothing that would help to extend her life.”
'Fantastic' care at St Teresa’s
Carole - who has two daughters Sarah-Jane Hancock, 37, and Katy Barnes, 40, and a grandson, Aiden, 15 - spent six weeks at St Teresa’s Hospice.
Simon said: “We went there from the hospital when they transferred her over and we thought it was like a hotel, it was that good.
“There was a TV, a big ensuite bathroom… It was like a four to five star hotel. They even had a cafe area where chefs prepare food for the patients too.
“The care in there is just fantastic.”
Simon recalled how the night Carole died, he saw the hospice’s rapid response team in action.
Last month, The Northern Echo reported how the Darlington hospice was left devastated after losing its “vital” rapid response service contract to the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT). You can read the full story on this here.
Simon said: “The rapid response team looked after all the patients in the hospice while two of the nurses prepared Carole to be taken away.
“They didn’t have to do it - they did it because they wanted to and knew her.”
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Now, Simon and Bowburn Toy and Train Collectors set to host a toy, train, and craft fair at the Cockerton Band and Musical Institute in Darlington to show support for the hospice.
Craig Foster said the group wanted to show their support after being “blown away” by the care and professionals at St Teresa’s.
The event will take place on October 20 - and there are even hopes it could be a yearly event, if it proves successful.
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