STRENGTH WITHIN

Melanie Salsbury, 51, Litchfield

Tears welling in my eyes, I picked up the framed picture of my parents. ‘Love you both so much,’ I whispered.

‘They would have been so proud of you, love,’ my partner David, 51, said, wrapping his arms around me.

It was September 2018, and I’d just undergone hip surgery – a pretty routine operation, but so scary, nonetheless.

I’d been so nervous about it, and even in my 50s, I’d wanted the comfort of my mum and dad.

In August 2015, my dad Alan, 72, had died of stomach cancer.

My mum Ruth, 69, had lost her battle with breast cancer just seven months later, in March 2016.

It had been a difficult few years, but David had been there for me the whole time, supporting me and holding my hand