For Kirsten and her family, Christmas is a time they especially remember their young daughter Olivia. Smart and funny, Olivia is remembered for her cheeky voice and love of animals. Filling her phone with pictures of her beloved dog Skye, Olivia was studying to be a veterinarian when she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma in 2015 after experiencing pain in her hip.

When all treatments had been exhausted Olivia asked to come home so she could be near her family, her dog and her guinea pigs. But she wasn’t ready for Karuna then, because Karuna meant end of life care, and they just weren’t ready to face that yet.

Karuna is a leader in community palliative care, including bereavement support. Our services includes specialist grief and bereavement counselling through all stages of end of life care.

If you would like to support Karuna and families like Olivia’s, we you can help here.