I never realised how many friends Carole had made on this Forum until I was sent a link to all the tributes many of you (90+) had posted here. Thank you so much for all the kind words and for any donations made to SENSE in her memory.
I realise that it is impossible for any of you to attend her funeral, which will be held on Friday 22nd at 1:45, but please hold her in your thoughts at that time.
As you cannot be there I thought that some of you might like to read my words for her service tomorrow. You might learn a few things about her that you didn't know.....
On 18th June 1953, unbeknown to me, my future wife was born.
But our story would only really begin when she finished school and told her parents that she was going to become a nurse. They were not impressed ..... didn’t really think she was up to it.
But this was Carole and she went on to qualify three years later. Within another two years she had become a staff nurse and now wore the navy blue uniform that she wanted so much. She was later to qualify as a district nurse and became team leader for the district nurse team working out of a practice in Nelson.
And that was the road taken which would eventually bring her to me.
One of her first roles however was as ward sister at Victoria Hospital, a very large Victorian stone built building in Burnley that many here will remember. Carole recalled that she was the sole person on duty throughout the night and all the seemingly inexplicable noises and subdued lighting made for a very creepy experience, with Carole pretty sure she was not alone.
She later spent time in the emergency department which she told me she enjoyed much more.
Her career had one more twist when she was persuaded that applying for an additional role of Practical Work Teacher would be in her best interest. She told me that at the interview she was asked the predictable question “why do you want this job”. Her reply was: “I don’t really”.
She was subsequently informed that her application had been successful.
And so she began to take student nurses under her wing and teach them the hands on side of being a district nurse.
Meanwhile my father, now living on his own following the loss of my mother, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. As his health rapidly deteriorated I persuaded him to come and live with me so I could take better care of him.
You have probably worked out by now how I met Carole. She was of course assigned to be his district nurse. She shared a similar sense of humour to my Dad with lots of banter going both ways.
Carole was easy to like and we seemed to get on very well.
When my father was later transferred to Ardenlea Hospice, where he would soon pass away, Carole rang me to ask if she could come round and collect all her notes and equipment.
This was going to be her last visit...... It was now or never.
I had been attracted to her from the start and had already noticed that there was no wedding ring on her finger. I wanted to ask her out but it didn’t seem appropriate when she was caring for my dad and anyway, I didn’t have the courage.
But.... it was now or never.
So I asked her ..... And she said yes.
I was later to find out that before coming to my house to collect her things she had gone home to change into a new uniform and to make sure she looked her best. I had no idea but all the while she was hoping I would eventually ask her out.
She later told me she couldn’t stop smiling all the way home.
That was to be the start of what would become 37 happy years together...........
Much later, partly due to health problems but in no small part due to the evolution of her role away from hands-on care to an increasingly paper based office job, Carole became disillusioned with her work and after almost 25 years as a nurse decided it was time to move on.
But she didn’t entirely leave the role that she was best at.
With my administrative background and Carole’s Nursing skills to back us up, we proceeded to buy a small 18 bed Registered Care Home in Garstang which we would own and manage together. When we took over, it was a pretty average care home. With Carole’s hard work, dedication and very high standards, the home was transformed to later be rated as ‘excellent’ By the CQC inspectors. Also, during that time, we were regularly assessed by an independent national star rating company for care homes. From an initial 3 stars, we progressed to 4 star and then the ultimate and very rare 5 star rating. Carole also qualified as an NVQ assessor to help with staff training and later achieved the Investors in People award.
Did someone once think she wasn’t up to it?
Our eventual retirement did not quite work out the way we planned and her COP diagnosis was soon to turn our world upside down and end her love of gardening. Our life eventually became tied to home and contact with the outside world would be mainly through personal carers and nurses and a few family members. She did however meet many friends on line on a health forum she had come across and also received lots of photos and videos of her new great niece from Australia. Carole was immediately smitten with Evie, watching the videos of her antics over and over again. She was over the moon when she finally met her during a recent visit to England. Her health was now deteriorating rapidly and she never expected to actually meet Evie in real life.
Her suffering is now over but I cannot even begin to explain how much I will miss her.
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I can understand the suffering that most of you have to endure from this terrible disease but still you found time to be a friend to Carole. You became a bigger part of her life than you probably realise.
Thank you all
Geoff
What Next I Ask 
Thanks All. 
