‘I lost my father to cancer when I was 16 years old. He passed away after recuperating at home. I saw him die in his bed, surrounded by family members. We all watched him take his last breath. It was a striking moment for me.

That’s when I decided to become a nurse.

Nowadays, dying at home is less common and the majority of people die at hospitals.

I lost one of my sisters in 1990 to terminal liver cancer. I was told she had one month to live but I took her home for end of life care. Thirty years ago, it was almost unheard of to care for a person with terminal cancer at home because it was considered risky. However, my sister had two boys, aged 11 and 14, so I brought her home. I realized then that the people we’re with and the place where we spend time at the end of our lives is very important.

I realized there was a need to deliver nursing care to people who want to spend time with their families at the end of their life. In other words, care at home, where nurses go out of the hospital and visit the patient.”