Carol Molyneux was born in Wavertree in 1944 and grew up with her mum, two brothers and a sister. She married her husband Randolph almost 60 years ago in 1966 and they lived in Kirby and then Bootle with their two children, Neil and Donna. They have two grandchildren, Kieran and Ellie, and a great granddaughter, Matilda. We recently caught up with Kieran who has kindly shared their story.

“We are a small but incredibly close-knit family. Our nan, Carol, was very special to me and my sister and has always been a constant person in our lives. She worked as a cleaner and was a very funny and caring person. She was especially close with our mum, Donna, who was a single parent and so Carol helped to bring us up. We spent a lot of time together and she was more like a parent than a grandparent.”

Carol and Randolph always put their family at the centre of their lives so when Donna passed away in 2016, they helped each other through, and Carol was always there for Kieran and Ellie.

In 2023, aged 78, Carol started experiencing some facial pain and was eventually diagnosed with a tumour in her jaw. She had recently broken her hip, and so she wasn’t very mobile and had carers in to help her. Due to her age and condition, the family were told that the treatment options for the cancer were very aggressive and would have left Carol with a limited quality of life and little ability to communicate or eat so Carol and her family decided not to go ahead with the treatment.

Carol wasn’t physically strong enough to look after herself and Randolph, who’s 84 himself and had been receiving treatment for liver cancer, wasn’t able to provide the level of professional care that was needed. Kieran and Ellie took on a lot of Carol’s care themselves, but it soon became clear that she needed round the clock professional nursing care, and they were told about St. Joseph’s Hospice.

After 60 years of marriage, moving out of the family home was a very tough decision, as it was all she had ever known, but they all agreed that Carol’s quality of life was more important than fighting something that couldn’t be beaten.

“My nan deteriorated very quickly after her diagnosis and, once she had decided not to go ahead with treatment, we needed to ensure that she was properly looked after.

In January 2024, aged 79, Carol and her family were welcomed at the hospice.

“The welcome and the level of care and compassion we all received at the hospice was incredible. It gave her a really happy six months and we were all able to be with her constantly. She spent most of her time smiling and laughing and she felt at peace there. She made some real friendships at the hospice too, everyone was so kind and friendly and enjoyed sharing a chat and a joke with her.”

Ellie’s daughter Matilda was born just a few months before Carol moved to the hospice and so she spent the first six months of her life with her great nan at the hospice.

“It's unusual for a baby to spend most of their first months in the hospice but Matilda did, and this became quite comfortable for us. She played in the living room, and she'd sit on the bed with my nan, and we’d all go out in the grounds together. Matilda brought Carol so much joy, it was wonderful to see.”

During the time Carol was being cared for at the hospice, she was eating and drinking better, despite the problems with her jaw and mouth. She was receiving care from a specialist gastroenterology team and dietician to monitor the tumour and enable her to continue eating softer, pureed foods. Along with her pain medication, this really helped to keep her stable.

“Carol had lots of visitors. Her son, Neil; Ellie’s cocker spaniel, Arnie; her brother and sister; and some other family members came in to see her. Some of the carers who had previously looked after her came in, and even some of the hospice staff would call in on their lunch break when they were working in another units, which was so kind.

“She had pain and swelling in her mouth, but she was laughing and joking right to the end. The big thing that really sticks with me was how accommodating the hospice was, with all of us, especially towards the end of Carol’s life. In her final days, we didn’t know how much longer she had left, but we knew that we wanted to stay with her throughout and the hospice made it so easy. They would make Randolph his tea and they gave us a bed to sleep on by her side. We could come and go whenever we wanted, day or night.”

Carol passed away on 3^rd July 2024 with Neil and Kieran by her side, holding Kieran’s hand until the end. She had a funeral at Thornton Cemetery, and she is now at rest alongside her daughter Donna.

“A lovely thing is that now, 6 months after Carol has passed, Matilda, who is now walking, takes herself into the conservatory and picks up Carol’s photo and gives her a kiss to show she still remembers her.”

Kieran is taking on this year’s London Marathon to raise money for the hospice in memory of Carol and has recently started training for the race which takes place on 27^th April 2025. Eleanor will also be raising funds by completing the Run Aintree 10km in May. We wish you lots of luck Kieran and Eleanor and hope you enjoy the atmosphere on the big day.