A MUM-OF-TWO living with incurable cancer who feared she might never walk again has hailed the amazing local charity which has helped her get back to her feet.

Jennifer McNeill was told by doctors in 2021 that she had stage four breast cancer, which had spread to her spine and left her in such severe pain that she could barely stand.

But now, three years on from her devastating diagnosis, Jennifer is able to walk on her own.

And she has even been able to go on a family holiday with her husband Kevin and their children Millie, 6, and Aidan, 4.

The 34-year-old says her amazing recovery is thanks in no small part to the incredible efforts of the hard-working staff at Ardgowan Hospice.

Jennifer was first taken into the hospice for one-to-one care in mid-2021 after she contracted Covid-19.

Jennifer McNeill and her husband Kevin. (Image: George Munro)

The Gourock mum told the Telegraph that she was apprehensive when she found out she would need to go into the hospice for care.

She said: “I was all over the place and telling them I wouldn’t go to the hospice.

“When I heard ‘hospice’ I just thought it was end of life. I didn’t know anything else about the place at all.

“I was thinking something was being hidden from me. I wanted to know why I couldn’t just take the medicine here. But a couple of days later I was transferred to the hospice.

“The staff were incredible. As soon as I entered the building, they were so warm, and my preconception was gone straight away.

“They just fussed over me. It’s like going to your granny’s.

“I came into the hospice basically in a wheelchair. I couldn’t stand up without help. If I needed to go to the toilet I had to get a commode or assistance from the girls in to help me. Bathing was the same.

“I’d gone from being so independent to having no function. Everything was just taken away from me. What I knew and what I thought I could do was just gone. It was pretty hard in my head to get over it.

“It’s been a big change. There are things I thought I’d never be able to do again that I can do now thanks to the hospice.”

Jennifer says the range of support she has received from the hospice has been incredible.

She added: “This is why it’s so important to support them. The number of different things that the hospice does to help people is unbelievable.

“I still have my wheelchair, because I know it’s not going to get back to normal, but from having a prognosis of five years, I can’t believe, looking back three years on, how I am now.

“It’s not just my physical health, it’s my mental health too. The counselling services at the hospice have been a big help.

“The hospice actually made something happen that I never thought could happen.

“All of our holidays have had to be with Kevin’s mum coming to help, who’s been a great support.

“But we had a holiday a month ago because the hospice put me forward to the Willow Foundation, which is sort of like Make A Wish for young adults.

“We got a trip to Centre Parcs, just the four of us, which was amazing.

“To go there as a family of four was a great couple of days away, and that was all through the hospice.”

While Jennifer still takes a wheelchair with her when leaving the house, she now has a much better range of mobility, and recent surgical interventions have helped tackle some of her pain.

Since she was first admitted to the hospice, she has received regular support from their staff, including physiotherapist John Kelly, who has witnessed her gradual improvement first hand.

"Jennifer’s main symptom was pain," John said. "When she came in she had a lot of leg pain and back pain.

“She was deconditioned because she’d been in bed for so long. From a hospice point of view, we were trying to help her live well with her symptoms, and reduce the symptoms of pain.

Jennifer with her Ardgowan Hospice physiotherapist John Kelly. (Image: George Munro)

“Gradually we wanted to get back to a level where she was able to mobilise well without assistance, and she’s managed that quite remarkably.

“At first Jennifer’s in patient stays were frequent and close together, but last year was the first year she didn’t receive any in-patient care and just received community support.

“When you think of the hospice you sometimes think of someone whose life will be over in a very short period of time, but when you see Jennifer, she’s been coming here for years and is living well.”

Over the last few years, Kevin and several of the family's friends have raised more than £30,000 for Ardgowan Hospice, and are currently planning a range of events and activities to show more support for the facility.

Those wishing to donate can do so by visiting tinyurl.com/hospicejennifer.