Tony was comfortable and safe at the hospice – he was not suffering

She rushed him to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital where doctors asked her an impossible question: Would she sign a ‘do not resuscitate’ form?

Mrs Morris refused and it was decided her husband should be taken to St Richard’s Hospice, which became their home for the next three weeks.

“The first thing they asked at the hospice was what we wanted, and I just replied, ‘Please don’t let him be in pain’,” said Mrs Morris.

“I was amazed at everything that was there, it was just like home from home.

“We took personal things up there and I stayed there all day and all night, going home occasionally to check the house or get some clean clothes.

“They respected our privacy; Tony was a very private person and he did not want to lose his dignity.

“If the curtains were closed they would not come in.”

Staff at the hospice’s Inpatient Unit told the couple to move the furniture around and organise the room how they wanted.

Fifty-seven-year-old Mrs Morris said she never felt uncomfortable and knew nothing was too much trouble.

Her three sons – Dean, Chris and Stuart – were able to make regular visits, as were friends and family.

“They would cook anything he wanted and the food was always delicious,” she said. “We had our own patio with our own table and chairs, so I could sit out there at night.”

Towards the end of Mr Morris’s illness, his wife of 38 years wanted to take him back to their home in Chatcombe Drive, Warndon, Worcester.

Nurses from the hospice’s home care team delivered a bed to the house and made sure everything was ready for his arrival and organised for district nurses to visit three times a day.

“It meant so much to have him home for those last three days,” said Mrs Morris.

The former DHL employee eventually lost his fight against cancer on Tuesday, October 14, 2007. He was 55 years old.

“I would have sold everything if doctors could have cured him but at least at the hospice Tony was safe and comfortable and was not suffering,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mrs Morris is organising a fund-raising evening at the Rainbow Hill Club in Mayfield Road, Worcester, on Saturday, March 28, starting at 7.30pm.

Local band Black Jack will be playing, supported by singer Christell O’Shea, and a raffle is also being held.

Tickets cost £3 and can be bought by calling Mrs Morris on 01905 457780 or Hazel Jackson on 01905 22784.

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