Watch heartbreaking moment Chesterfield teenager sings to his mum for final time
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Fourteen-year-old Billy Devine says the thought of the performance in the grounds of Ashgate Hospice ‘still gives him goosebumps’.
His mum, Jane Devine, was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2019 and was very poorly by September this year when Billy decided he and his friend Ellie Marie Scott would sing a rendition of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Shallow.
Jane sadly died just a few days later.
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Hide AdBilly said: “I love to sing, and my mum always loved to hear me sing, so I thought it would be the perfect surprise to sing her favourite song whilst she was staying at Ashgate.
“It felt like the performance of a lifetime. I’ll never forget the look on my mum’s face as she watched from the window of her room. Just remembering it now gives me goosebumps.”
Since his mum’s diagnosis, Billy and his family, from Newbold, have raised £4,000 for Ashgate Hospicecare through a variety of fundraisers including Care for a Cuppa coffee mornings, bingo nights and head shaving.
MORE: Terminally-ill mum marries love of her life in moving ceremony at Chesterfield's Ashgate Hospice
“Mum was such a caring person, she spent most of her life looking after other people and spending time with her family," Billy said.
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Hide Ad"She was such a strong and positive person to be around, even after she was diagnosed, she was determined to face the cancer head-on.
“Unfortunately, no matter how hard mum fought, this wasn’t going to be a battle she could win. That’s when she went to Ashgate Hospicecare and I can honestly say that the care she received was amazing, it is a very welcoming and comforting place, not just for mum but for the whole family.
“I am incredibly grateful to the hospice for helping us organise this special moment, truly one none of us will ever forget.
“It has been a real honour to raise money for Ashgate Hospicecare and to be able to repay some of the kindness they showed to our family when we needed it most.”
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Hide AdAshgate Hospicecare’s Winter Crisis Appeal has been launched to plug a £2.4 million gap in revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
To help, visit www.ashgatehospicecare.org.uk/winter-crisis-appeal/ or call 01246 567250.