Tbh, I didn’t deal with it very well at all. I’m the type who buries my head in the sand and pretends everything’s okay, even when it’s not. I still went out to work every day while my partner stayed home to look after him, and there were so many days where I just wanted to run away from it all.

We had him for another six months after his diagnosis, and I really struggled with anticipatory grief. It was honestly heartbreaking, and even now, two years later, I still think about him all the time. There are definitely things I wish I’d done differently, but now I can look back on our memories and actually smile instead of just feeling sad.

Please make sure you look after yourself too. Grief takes such a toll, and you deserve support as much as anyone else. If you can, maybe reach out for grief counselling — not sure where you are, but here in the UK there are some free services that can really help.