LESLEY Stevens has a very special reason for urging women to lace up their walking shoes and stride through the night on the Treetops Hospice Moonlight Walk.
For it was the hospice and its staff who helped and supported her during her husband Michael's final days.
Michael successfully battled three different types of cancer before doctors finally told him they could do no more to help.
He had survived a brain tumour in 1998, followed by oesophageal and bowel cancers. But when cancer returned in early 2012, he was given just six months to live.
Lesley, from Findern, explained: "When we went in to see the consultant he broke the bad news. The cancer was back, and it was in his bones, it was everywhere."
The couple's district nurse discovered Lesley, who works as a carer, had been sleeping on the floor in Michael's room for three weeks to look after him and that's where Treetops Hospice came in.
"It took me a long time to ask for help, because I was capable of caring for Michael myself," said Lesley.
"The first visit from a Treetops nurse was in the afternoon. I got to go out for lunch and a walk; it was a breath of fresh air. At home, the nurse gave Michael a foot massage to help him relax.
"They are a wonderful team of supportive ladies. I couldn't do what those nurses do. There's something special within them, something angelic."
And she added: "The most important thing for me was that, with the help of Treetops, I was able to get back to being Michael's wife."
Lesley took part in her first Moonlight Walk in 2013, 11 months after Michael's death.
She said: "It was awesome. It was the best experience of my life. When we walked round by the Silk Mill, lots of men came out to hug and kiss their partners and wives who were walking."
The event is now in its fourth year and has raised £179,706 for Treetops.
There is a 10k or 5k walk, and women aged over 14 can register to take part in the walk, which starts at 10pm on Friday, June 27, at treetopshospice.org.uk/moonlight or by calling 0115 949 6930.
