Normally, Jill would have been on hand to deliver the Village Show together with her husband Andy. They've managed it with flawless efficiency and good humour for years, but this year Jill was in hospital instead. She's had a terminal cancer diagnosis - though 'terminal' could mean a few months or some years. I went to see her and found her and Andy and daughter Carrie playing Yahtzee to help with her cognition and fine motor functions. The treatment is working in so far as it can, restoring the capacities that have become impossible over the last few days. Jill is keeping a diary of her treatment, in the thought it might help someone. She was delighted to get back the use of her hand so she could send an email to an inmate at the prison where she volunteers who was being released, and who she was worried about. She says, 'I've entered a new world. I have to think what I can do to help in it. It's about what I can do with my time from now on, not what I can't do.' It is to all the family's credit, as well as Jill's, that they're taking the risk of letting everyone know what's happening, when that means running the gauntlet of people's well-meaning care. But that way her boldness, generosity and hope will, indeed, help.
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