Jennifer Hughes looks back on her childhood fondly. She grew up in Honaker, Virginia where she walked everywhere- to church, school, and even her first job. But it had not been easy. Her father died in the coal mine when she was nine years old, and her mother was diagnosed with cancer when she was thirteen.  

Within six months, her mother could no longer care for herself. Jennifer and her brother would carry her to the bathroom. Her brother, older by 9 years, went to work to support the family leaving thirteen-year-old Jennifer to care for her mother all day.  

The town did what they could to help. Jennifer’s mother had worked at the school. So someone would drop by to bring Jennifer her schoolwork and pick up the completed assignments from the day before. But she remained at home for a full year, caring for her mother as the cancer progressed. 

“It makes you grow up fast,” she explained. “It was so hard seeing Mom like that. One day, I went to wake her up, and when she lifted her head, her hair fell off on the pillow. It scared me.” 

Her mother had a hard time telling the kids she was dying. Finally, Jennifer came with her to a doctor’s appointment, and the doctor called her into his office and said coldly, “She’s going to die, sooner rather than later.”  

Her mother spent the time she could sharing her advice and trying to prepare her children for her passing. “She tried to tell me it would be hard. People have their own families. They’ll only be able to help us so much. But I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to think about any of that.” 

Going through this experience inspired Jennifer to help families understand the support hospice provides and that they don’t have to manage this alone. “I want to educate as many people as I can. Mom should have been offered hospice the day she was diagnosed,” she says. Her pain and symptoms could have been controlled, and the children would have received support from a social worker for thirteen months after her passing. 

Now, Jennifer’s mission is to ensure no families in her area face this alone. For more information about hospice and to speak with someone 24 hours a day, call 866-694-4848.