Marmaduke’s Story relates the palliative care journey of one family caring for their young son at home with the help of palliative care community support. Marmaduke’s story is inevitably very sad, as is every loss of a young child, but the strength of his family in caring for him and making the most of his short time with them is truly inspiring. 

Marmaduke was 15-months old when he was first diagnosed with childhood cancer. From that time on, his father, Simon, became his full-time carer. “When you realise how uncertain life is, you do begin to appreciate the value of family and friendships and enjoy those moments while you have them, because you don’t know what’s around the corner,” said Simon. Marmaduke received early intervention through chemotherapy, and spent many months in and out of hospital. Although declared clear of cancer after his chemotherapy, Marmaduke had a serious relapse. As this was happening, Simon’s wife was also battling through chemotherapy treatment.

In this video, Simon talks about the impact palliative care had on Marmaduke’s quality of life, saying the pain relief given to Marmaduke at home allowed him to almost lead a normal life with his family. 

“That’s what was so important with palliative care – we had the opportunity to bring him home, to be with family.”