Family makes donations in name of Boston nurse Maria

Maria Slater touched the hearts of thousands with her Facebook blog ‘My name is Maria I am 35, I have grade 2 Breast and stage 3 Ovarian cancer’ which documented her challenges with the disease.

She lost her battle last September and following her funeral £2,100 was raised from collections.

The 39-year-old was mum to three daughters Mackenzie, 11, Madison, nine, and Mazie, six. Her daughters presented cheques of £700 each to Ward 7A at Pilgrim Hospital and the chemotherapy suite, Macmillan Cancer Support Services and the Butterfly Hospice.

Maria received treatment on Ward 7A and the chemotherapy suite, where she was already well-known to staff having previously worked as a nurse at the hospital.

Her mum Teresa said: “The ward and chemo suite looked after Maria so well. We had lots of support from Macmillan and she was impressed with the facilities at the Butterfly Hospice.

“Maria was so strong and a real fighter. She wanted people to read her own experiences and learn from them, with the key message to make sure to check themselves, so they get an early diagnosis.”

Maria set up her blog, which has more than 3,600 followers, when she was diagnosed in 2012. Her family have continued to keep the blog updated following her death.

Maria also leaves behind her dad Harold and her brother Martin and sister Suzanne.

Harold said: “Her blog is important to lots of people. We were in Australia and a doctor told me he had been told to read Maria’s blog as part of his training to see things from a patient’s perspective.

“Maria would have been very proud of what she had achieved both with the blog and with the donations.”

Bee Hulley, Sister on Ward 7A at Pilgrim Hospital said she was ‘extremely grateful’ for the donation which will be used to buy equipment for patients.

Bee added: “Maria was a pleasure to nurse. We all felt it when she died, we were all incredibly sad.”

Linda Sanderson, Butterfly Hospice Trust manager, said the ‘wonderful donation which will go directly towards patient care’.

“I was pleased to hear that Maria was impressed with the facilities at the Butterfly Hospice but ultimately she was surrounded by her friends and colleagues in Pilgrim Hospital which was the right environment for her,” she added.