She will walk for the hospice that "held her hand through the worst part of her life"

Caroline O’Connor, who lives in Didcot, will join hundreds of people on Sobell House's Moonlight Stroll through the streets of Headington this summer.

The 41-year-old said: "We want to keep giving back because they do so much for us. There's something about the walk that brings us all together.

"People think Sobell is about end-of-life care, but actually what they deliver is life."

Staff at the hospice, which soothes the pain of terminally ill patients, looked after father-of-three George O'Connor before he was died from pancreatic cancer.

The 42-year-old was passed from expert to expert after reporting crippling stomach pain, extreme weight loss and bowel trouble, before finally being diagnosed with cancer.

After witnessing him vomit three times, Caroline's friend called Sobell – who sent out a nurse.

Caroline said: "She drove to the doctors to get him to write a prescription for painkillers. It was the first night George had slept for nine months.

"The day she walked through the door was the day his life changed."

Tesco employee George – who was passionate about fast cars, jazz music and clay pigeon shooting – visited the hospice's day centre but refused to be admitted as a patient, until the pain became excruciating.

Caroline described the nurses as a "different breed of people" who told her the truth without patronising her or "taking precious time away".

She said: "They just got him medication straight away. He was in so much pain he didn't know what to do with himself.

"They told us what to expect, day by day. They always made sure I was holding his head when they moved him up the bed after he'd slid down, because that was the only time his eyes would open."

She made George two promises that she stuck to throughout – not to leave him alone, and not to leave him in pain.

Their children – Jake who was three, David who was nine and Ebonie who was 12 – knew that "daddy was poorly", but not that he wouldn't be coming home.

Sobell referred the family to SeeSaw, a grief support charity for children which helped the family deal with the news.

They all packed their bags and moved into the hospice's family room with George, where nurses brought Caroline a bed so she could sleep next to him.

She said: "It's really the little things they do, like this lady in the day room who would take the children and say 'let’s get you some orange juice' and sneak them biscuits. It was just to distract them."

The days of deterioration that followed were mellowed by an original song that George had recorded in Sobell’s music room.

Caroline said: "They brought the CD in so George could hear. It was so tranquil. You could tell he was completely at peace. That song was completely bespoke to George, it's beautiful. We played it at his funeral.

"It still brings back horrible memories but it reminds me that his state of mind was comfortable."

George died on June 6, two weeks after he was brought in.

Caroline said: "Sobell were so supportive all the way through. After the funeral they got in contact to give us counselling, which really helped with communication and how the kids were feeling.

"Some mornings I physically couldn't get out of bed... grieving is so much more powerful than you could ever understand if you've not been through it. You just go into survival mode. It was a lot easier to deal with it because of Sobell, they held our hand through the worst part of our life."

Since then the family – who say they have come out the other end stronger – have raised more than £6,000 for Sobell House.

They had a charity collection at George’s funeral, and walked the Moonlight Stroll sporting baseball caps in tribute to those he always wore.

The self-confessed party couple met at a nightclub, where 19-year-old Caroline had nicknamed 24-year-old George "the miserable doorman".

They married in 1999 before having children, now aged nine, 13 and 16.

Caroline, who has found new love, has committed herself to living life to the full.

This year she is among 20 people walking the Moonlight Stroll in memory of George, in the 70s-themed event on July 16 at 10.30pm.

They will wear Afros, remembering the time George dressed up as a Miami Vice character for a party.